The Light Before We Land
by Samurai Smee
Summary: Kyuzo x Katsu. After their rain-soaked battle in Kanna, Kyuzo does not leave the village as he has become quite ill as a result. Katsushiro sees this is his opportunity to finally make his move on the delightfully bed-ridden samurai. Yaoi and fluff.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The Light Before We Land

"_Without a premonition / could you tell me where we stand? / I'd hate to lose this light / before we land / And when I feel like I can feel once again / let me stay awhile / soak it in awhile."_ – The Delgados

X

Chapter One

_**Third Person POV**_

Silent, measured breaths escaped the deadly, disciplined warrior as he slept soundly on his stomach on top of the blanketed, woven mat, his long, heavy red coat folded neatly by his head as he finally allowed his exhausted body some solid time to recuperate and regain strength.

Soft, blonde locks of hair partially covered Kyuzo's handsome face as his lips were barely parted against the thin but adequate pillow he was currently sleeping on, his pale, strong hands resting up by his head on the mat as the silent ex-bodyguard snoozed peacefully during the late hours of the night - the previous day having been filled with Kanna's second act of rain-drenched defense against the Nobuseri whereupon the samurai and villagers alike had fought bravely, tirelessly despite the cruel conditions.

In addition to blonde warrior feeling the inevitable strain and burn within his muscles from fighting so much and so hard, Kyuzo had instantly recognized his slight disorientation and light-headedness as becoming of a fever, probably due to being completely soaked with chilly rainwater for a prolonged amount of time before otherwise could be done.

The silent samurai did not stir in the least from his sleep as a cool hand tentatively touched his forehead, checking for any unhealthy heat which happened to be present, before lightly sliding down the exposed side of Kyuzo's sharp jaw line as if to admire such flawless construction in such a prime moment where the strict, intimidating man was charmingly unaware of his surroundings.

Kyuzo did, however, slowly, barely open his tired, red eyes, usually so full of cool, level ferocity, as he felt the subtle shifts of additional weight being placed onto his sleep-mat right directly next to him.

The blonde blinked his half-opened eyes before fully closing them once more, not able to clearly see anything amidst the darkened inside of the hut he was in without truly attempting to search, as he felt himself already falling back into a blissful slumber…just as a smaller, slender body completely settled next to his, purposefully nestling against his sheet-covered and still-clothed torso and legs as the figure carefully situated himself as close as he dared to the dual-sword wielder.

The last thing the ex-bodyguard's dreary, clouded mind was able to somewhat register before sleep fully claimed his temporarily unresponsive body and soul once again, was the feeling of someone softly grazing their cheek against the side of his outstretched arm, almost as if to savor something about him, something completely impossible for the fever-plagued and worn out samurai to even begin to contemplate.

X

The next day…

Kyuzo had woken up alone in the simple but practical hut, not even seeing the few male farmers that he was currently sharing the modest space with, as he lifted his upper body to rest on his forearms from his stomach-lying position.

Groaning low in his dry throat, the blonde dipped his head down as he brought up his hands to rake through his sunlight-colored tresses, effectively moving them briefly out of his face so he may place his palm flat against his forehead and estimate his own fever.

It had lessened since yesterday, but the fearless warrior still felt a bit sluggish and weighty from the effects.

With drowsy movements that fought to be schooled and more graceful, Kyuzo turned on his side, flung the pale-colored blanket off of him, and carefully rose to his feet.

Outside the hut, just beyond the straw, hanging door, the handsome samurai could hear children playing, obviously running around and shouting joyously as they made up infinite games with each other, as his keen ears could also pick up the more far-off sounds of birds chirping merrily as they soared overhead, passing Kanna Village and countless others in just matters of minutes.

Kyuzo quickly scooped up his beloved red coat, unfurled the durable fabric to its full length, and routinely shrugged the familiar garment on; realizing with a bit of sour rue that the reason he had woken up alone was because he had slept in late and the farmers were already out and working without him.

Sighing, the red-clad warrior decided that he would eat after he had a chance to bathe, his routine for the day having to be finalized in his mind beforehand as the ever-present, cognizant realization weighed heavily, bitterly within him that he had better not push himself too much today.

As Kyuzo stepped into his black and red-striped boots, ready to exit the hut and set out in the village and perform his duties as usual, he could not help but feel cynically grateful that Kambei had chosen to leave right after their battle with the Nobuseri and therefore was not able to see Kyuzo in such an embarrassing state – ill and not feeling well.

Bright, radiant rays of glorious sunshine stung Kyuzo's crimson gaze at first before he squinted his eyes and lowered them to the peasants who were busy hauling huge, trimmed logs from every direction to the next, the whole village of Kanna seeming to be bustling about as new homes were being constructed and things were finding normalcy once again.

Against the staggering blue sky above, the many, expansive fields of bent rice glinted with a lovely gold color, and even more in the foreground of the blonde samurai's vision was the dark-brown, dirt walkways on which the villagers were practically sprinting as they carried out their orders given to them by either Shichiroji or Heihachi.

Kyuzo was a little surprised to feel himself genuinely relax more now that he was outside and beholding such natural beauty, his overall grogginess that often is begotten from fever having lifted a bit from his very physical being, before he focused his stern eyes on the pathway that led to the right, passing the homes in favor of leading off into the forest.

His steps were determined, but not hurried, as the tall, leanly-built samurai walked away from the gold and blue scenery, full of people busy with work and play amidst such good weather and atmosphere, as he took to navigating through the thick, heavily-wooded forest where sunlight was scarce as it tried to make tiny, white dots where it could against the crowded canopy overhead.

Having seen it when he, Shichiroji, and Kirara had traveled from the Guardian's cave to Kanna Viallge, Kyuzo knew of the large pond that lay on the outskirts of the Sacred Forest, just before one came upon the grand, stone gorges that towered over the area and outlined the other neighboring villages.

This circular, crystal-clear pond, serving as the collection of water that made up the underground channels, was in perfect solitude as it was located outside of the village which gave any visitors a comforting view of the trees as it was also partially enclosed by large, grey rocks and stones, which made the body of water actually quite difficult to find.

No noise, no people, just water and quiet.

At last, Kyuzo stepped through the last of the trees and approached the pond as a narrow, dirt path framed around the actual water, his always alert eyes searching left and right before accepting that he was, in fact, thankfully alone.

Kyuzo stepped on the simple pathway up to the side of the water, looking into the silvery water for only a brief moment before closing his eyes and bringing his hands up to the folds of his infamous, red coat, already pulling apart the material from his chest and nonchalantly sliding his arms out of each of the sleeves.

Again, the coat was folded neatly and placed fairly close to the water, along with his large, matching red sheath that housed both of his long, thin blades, before Kyuzo latched his large, pale hands onto the black, criss-crossing straps that strung over his chest and around his back and carefully lifted it over his head.

Before continuing with his long-sleeved, shoulder-less shirt, Kyuzo kicked off his boots beside his growing pile of clothes by the side of the pond, and then swiftly pulled his form-fitting shirt off with deft, precise movements, quickly revealing his wide, horridly scarred back to the surrounding nature.

Simple black pants were inched down long, firm legs, folded, and placed on top of the pile before Kyuzo casually stepped down into the pond, knowing exactly where a few, tall rocks were so they may serve as steps to gradually lower his immaculately sculpt, deadly body into the sun-warmed water.

Kyuzo's soft, perfectly-shaped lips had parted as a small shiver had escaped the dual-sword wielder upon first entering the water, but he was quickly soothed into a deep tranquility as the refreshing water reached his chest, bringing extreme comfort to his over-worked muscles and general feeling of drowsiness.

Kyuzo brought his dripping hands out of the water and placed them on his face, rubbing up and down the fine contours, before dropping his body completely down into the water as he calmly held his breath and just stayed submerged for a totally silent and visually bleary moment.

The tall, pale young man with eyes of cool, hellish rage rose up from the water, taking a bit more air than usual into his lungs as he turned around in his spot and promptly sat down on one of the eroded, underwater rocks that made for a smooth, adequate seat for his long legs and stature.

Kyuzo did not mind at all how his thick mane of blonde hair dripped water across his face or was sticking to the back of his neck, as he lifted his arms up and placed his elbows on the ground's edsge out before him, right next to his perfectly folded clothes and swords.

Kyuzo could not help but lean his head onto his bent, left arm, letting that hand remain buried in his own, sopping wet locks, as he kept his right hand comfortably resting on his left bicep, his whole seated posture almost cradled in such a way as the red-eyed man lazily observed the trees out ahead of him, his view somewhat obscured by his angle in the pond as he just peered back into the wilderness from the water.

The peaceful blonde inhaled deeply the crisp smell of the water, mixed in with the sharp, musk from the trees that created almost a tingling sensation to course through the stoic warrior as he truly took a moment to not worry about anything, not the impending war between the samurai and capital, not Kanna Village and their problems, nothing.

Kyuzo did not even notice it when his eyes began to close…

…but someone else had.

Someone had watched with unwavering concentration as the blonde swordsman had stripped off his clothes before getting in the water, having taken his time with the careful removal of his black bodysuit before folding every piece with infinite care and discipline before sinking that toned, battle-hardened body deep into the water to soak.

_Achoo!_

Kyuzo sniffed miserably as he opened his eyes; able to sense that he had not had them closed for long, but morbidly depressed that his minor cold was making him sneeze occasionally.

However, before another thought could pass through his mind, in response to his sudden sneeze, Kyzuo heard someone jump from about twenty feet behind him, making obvious ripples course over the surface of the water that practically reverberated through the acute samurai's body.

With lightening fast movements, Kyuzo had one of his swords drawn from his sheath out in front of him, and was turning around with his weapon poised for a quick and rather personal kill.

"W-wait, Kyuzo-dono, it's me! It's Katsushiro!" pleaded the startled voice of the green-eyed young man who had been trying to stealthily saunter up to the uncharacteristically relaxed red warrior whose very image of such seemed to just effortlessly draw in the impressionable youth towards him.

Kyuzo visibly dropped his battle-ready tension, expertly placing his long, sharpened sword back in its place inside the red sheath on the ground, before merely casting his piercing gaze to Katsushiro from over his shoulder, admittedly feeling a little ashamed that he had not sensed the fledgling samurai's presence sooner.

Understanding that Kyuzo's gaze was, undoubtedly, questioning why he was even there, the equally bared and water-treading youth who still had his hair up in his usual style, swallowed thickly before saying, "I uh…I came to ask you if you are feeling any better, Kyuzo-dono."

Kyuzo almost huffed indignantly at Katsushiro's seemingly innocent statement, the dual-sword wielder also not particularly favoring how his condition was apparently known to others – the green-haired samurai still taking slow, cautious steps towards the blonde's direction as he brooded over these facts and faced away from him.

Suddenly, Kyuzo gasped, his naturally half-lidded eyes widening considerably as he felt fingers as soft and light and silk, carefully run down his back, making him shudder a bit from receiving such gentle, unexpected sensations and attempted to turn around before Katsushiro's words stopped whatever movement he had had planned on executing.

"…there are so many scars," Katsushiro said almost dreamily, his fingers still tracing over some of the more noticeable lines of raised, repaired flesh as he eyed them with evident longing in his voice, "…I can't believe you managed to survive them all…especially this one."

Kyuzo hissed in between his teeth, his neck craning back slightly, as he felt Katsushiro's sinfully soft fingers glide down the length of the largest, most jagged scar that adorned the middle of his wide, strong back before it disappeared beyond the water's surface – all of the young samurai's touches seeming to soothe the blonde warrior tremendously as well as make him drastically nervous and perplexed.

Confused over Katsushiro's unfamiliar touches that served to jostle the stoic swordsman's typically serene and collected mind, Kyuzo turned around to face the green-eyed young man, the water sloshing around them momentarily as he watched as Katsushiro automatically peered up into Kyuzo's water-streaked face at such a close proximity.

"Wow…"Katsushiro murmured, seemingly in a trance as the lithe, slender young man utilized this rare moment of Kyuzo being caught off guard as he carefully sat down on top of the blonde's lap, sliding his weight on top of Kyuzo's well-muscled thighs underneath the cool, cleansing water as he brought them even closer together.

Kyuzo, still having yet to utter a single word to the young man, had his lips unconsciously parted as he beheld such acts of tender boldness, perhaps even fearlessness which the red-eyed samurai was not accustomed to in the least when around others, as he only maintained a questioning, confused gaze at Katsushiro, barely understanding what the green-haired youth was even doing in the first place.

Out of the water came two, delicate hands that rose to either side of Kyuzo's handsome, chiseled face, taking hold of his jaw line in impossibly gentle caresses of Katsushiro's fingers against his flesh as the blonde watched the younger man's gaze soften and almost become lost as he watched with half-lidded eyes what his own hands were doing, just how they touched and felt Kyuzo's warm, pale flesh.

"Katsushiro…" Kyuzo said at last, wanting it to have sounded more like a warning as it was merely voiced as a low, barely-audible murmur that fell from the master swordsman's lips to the youth currently sitting on his lap and marveling at the sharp lines that constructed his face – the blonde's extremely controlled and war-sculpted senses and rationale absolutely failing him in trying to come up with a plausible solution to his situation.

"I think your fever has gone down some…Kyuzo-done," Katsushiro practically whispered to the older, devastatingly gorgeous man before him as he almost regretfully took his hands away from that pale, smooth skin, still loving how he was able to be this close to him and seeing him as he was in the pond, dripping wet with matted, blonde locks that let tiny, clear droplets of water rain down upon the hard, solid planes of his chest and shoulders, that endearing, speechless look on his face as mindlessly allowed Katsushiro to touch and speak to him as he pleased.

Kyuzo's disobedient body had shivered again upon hearing just how Katsushiro pronounced his name, with so much raspy satin that definitely hinted at something else but ultimately brought back some of Kyuzo's strict instincts, as the blonde hurriedly placed his hands flat against the green-eyed man's shoulders and shoved him away, keeping him at arms' length before standing up to his full height so Katsushiro might think twice before getting too close again.

Katsushiro said nothing; merely watching with intense interest as Kyuzo turned his back to him again, clearly bringing up a hand to swipe the water out of his eyes, before using his warrior's grace and stepping up a few stones so he may be on the ground once again.

Emerald eyes glazed over a bit, having narrowed as they watched every elegant move the blonde samurai had made, as Katsushiro let his gaze wander up and down the very embodiment of perfection to him, taking in the long, taut lines of scarred, powerful muscle that formed the refined and deadly warrior that stood before him and dressed.

Black bodysuit in place, boots having been slipped on, and coat in his hands, Kyuzo chanced one last glance towards the green-haired youth still bathing in the pond, who was watching him in return with eyes that truly denied his age, before briskly retracing his steps back into the forest which would lead him into Kanna Village, already breathing easier now that he was putting more and more distance between himself and the baffling young man.

Katsushiro dropped his shoulders the moment Kyuzo disappeared from view, already missing being so close with the elusive, silent male as the Okamoto could still feel the older swordsman's soft, blonde hair tickling at his fingertips, his surprisingly smooth, silken skin against his palms as he had held onto that deceptively attractive face, and felt the little puffs of warm air that escaped him ghost over his throat as Kyuzo breathed.

Being so close to something that seemed impossible to touch was maddening as it was electrifying to the green-eyed male as he contemplated his next move, trying to utilize his newly-learned strategizing skills that he had learned from Kambei during their battles, as Katsushiro genuinely felt like he had had a moment where he had captured lightening in a bottle, grasped something that was never really meant for human hands, to finally know of something that not just anyone had the fortitude to comprehend.

Katsushiro felt like he had danced with the devil or learned to fly…as he could still see in his mind's eye, the way Kyuzo had peered right back into his eyes, no words leaving either man's mouth for a while, as the blonde was in shock at being touched and Katsushiro was in shock that he was finally touching him.

It was no secret amongst the remaining samurai and villagers that the Okamoto youth highly valued Kyuzo's fighting abilities and adherence to Bushido, but what was not known was how Katsushiro had been absolutely intrigued by even the tiniest of detail concerning the red-clad warrior since the very first time their paths had crossed back in Kougakyou.

Being subject to that unforgiving, scarlet stare had initially frightening the green-haired young man, fueling his need to protect Lady Kirara from such an unpredictable and powerful aura that Kyuzo emitted, but that fear had quickly given way to a deep, consuming obsession that Katsushiro honestly could not help but let drive him to seek out more about the red warrior.

His silence was puzzling but admirable; his striking red gaze was fascinating and mysterious; his expert swordsmanship was beautiful and inspiring; his face was simply mesmerizing.

Katsushiro knew from the moment he had seen Kirara sewing up Kyuzo's red coat when he and the rest of the samurai had spotted them from beyond Wing Rock, that, aside from blatantly noticing Kyuzo's form-fitting attire and how his shirt allowed for his large, broad shoulders to be free, he was instantly hooked on catching Kyuzo in these rare, precious moments – the realization practically crashing down on the fledgling samurai as he could not deny feeling a certain unforeseeable jealousy wring tightly inside his stomach from seeing the water priestess with him instead.

Katsushiro sighed thoughtfully, blinking at the sight of the aged trees making up the forest out ahead of him, before reaching up his hands to free his hair so he may begin his bath, considerations plaguing him relentlessly about how he would like to proceed with the silent blonde versus how he should proceed in order to have the best possible outcome…as well as protect his own life.

X

Meanwhile, Kyuzo had successfully returned back to the village, the afternoon hour getting quite late, but still providing just enough dimming sunlight for the farmers' work not to be terribly disrupted and for lamps to start being used, and was currently sitting cross-legged in his hut with a bowl of rice in his hands.

Kyuzo ate his meal slowly, his mind still turning over the strange events that had happened to him earlier in the day, as he almost had to remind himself to stab his chopsticks back into the heap of warm rice and take another bite.

It just did not make sense to the red-clad swordsman and just thinking about it was threatening to give him an excruciating head-ache.

The blonde warrior was not blind, however, and had noticed full-well how Katsushiro would blush around him, usually getting a certain gleam in his eyes as he beheld the dual-sword wielder and listened to what he had had to say.

When Kyuzo had returned back from his scouting mission and reported in to Kambei, Katsushiro had been practically bowing down in front of him with respect, and later that same evening, the green-haired youth had had the audacity to approach him while he slept in the forest to offer him simple words of praise.

Even before that, Kyuzo could still remember how pleased the young man had looked once he had finally agreed in his own way to be a part of Kambei's team of samurai and travel to Kanna Village to defend it alongside them all.

Kyuzo chewed another small mouthful of rice as he tried to fit the pieces of the obscure puzzle together, finding it rather likely that the young Okamoto male was probably just struck by a simple case of 'hero worship,' just as he had with Kambei, but still…

Those touches against his back had been pure, blissful heaven and when Kyuzo had looked Katsushiro in the eyes, he had seen nothing but quiet, reserved want and lust as if the fledgling samurai was asking for something with truly asking for it.

Kyuzo licked the front of his teeth, unable to cease thinking about how wonderful those slender but determined hands of his had felt against his face, just holding his cheeks with the soft pads of his fingers, definitely something he was not used to by any shape, form, or fashion as the war-experienced samurai could still vividly remember, in large quantities that made up his tragic memory, how hands reaching out towards him had always had the intention to kill him.

People and machines had always only tried to get close to him so they could maim and slice his body in the most brutal and horrendous of ways, be it by swords or spears or bows or brute force; others typically approached the wordless, red-clad samurai so they could smear the surrounding ground with his bright, red blood and walk over his cold, lifeless body…never…ever…just to touch his face.

"Great Kyuzo, I have brought you some medicine for your cold," suddenly chimed an up-beat, positive voice from just outside his hut before Kirara politely pushed aside the straw door and stood there to receive permission first.

Kyuzo set his almost-empty bowl of rice down on the floor before casting his naturally half-lidded gaze her way, noticing that she was carrying a wooden tray with two, steaming cups on top, before nodding curtly to the water priestess, figuring that he would, in fact, probably greatly upset the girl should he turn down the medicine that she had obviously already prepared for him.

Kirara approached the sitting samurai, still keeping to the forefront of the facility, as she extended her tray towards him and set down one of the tiny, ceramic cups that contained his prescribed concoction.

The brunette young lady watched with great pleasure as Kyuzo picked up the little cup cooperatively, brought it just under his nose so he may sniff at the brewed but otherwise unknown liquid, before quirking an inquisitive eyebrow up at her.

"It's to help with the fever," Kirara explained with a small chuckle, finding it extremely charming how Kyuzo had to first silently question her about the odd-smelling medicine before actually drinking it.

Kyuzo frowned at the cup in his hands before faithfully tipping it back and downing the thickly-brewed concoction with a little effort on his part.

Kirara's approving smile never left her face as she watched Kyuzo finish the last of the liquid before setting down the small cup back on her tray, a bit of a contorted grimace on his face once he lowered the cup from his lips.

"And here's some tea to get rid of the taste," Kirara added with good-natured glee in her voice, already handing the red-clad samurai the second cup that had been sitting on her tray.

Kyuzo was quick to take this cup from the water priestess and hurriedly drank down the warm, green tea that easily cleansed his suffering palate and left a much more pleasant taste in his mouth.

Kirara chuckled warmly again as she sat down next to Kyuzo, the tray on her lap, as she kept her feet on the ground below and merely sat on the wooden floorboards by his side so she may speak with him and wait for him to finish his tea.

"You know, Katsushiro was the one who told me that you were not feeling well," Kirara said conversationally, her voice pleasant and cheerful as she watched Kyuzo calmly lower the cup from his lips and blink open his eyes to meet her waiting gaze.

"It seems that he has taken quite a liking to you; he's definitely worried about you, Great Samurai," Kirara remarked as she observed how Kyuzo's stunning red eyes lowered for the smallest of moments, as if he needed to drop her gaze to take in her words properly, before the ex-bodyguard met her gaze again and simply nodded in courteous understanding.

"Thanks for the medicine," Kyuzo stated, purposefully dodging Kirara's comments about Katsushiro that he honestly did not know how to answer.

Kirara bowed her head respectfully, accepting Kyuzo's empty tea cup on top of her tray, before standing and turning slightly to look upon his calm stature once more.

"Please call me if you need anything," Kirara said with a genuine smile, prompting the blonde warrior to soften his gaze at her and nod his head once more, grateful for such kind words and gestures from her and the others, even if they did sometimes make him feel uncomfortable.

Kyuzo watched the water priestess taker her leave before bringing up a hand and pinching the bridge of his nose, his scalding red eyes closed as he could already feel the medicine making him feel a bit drowsy even though he could tell that his previous grogginess was beginning to lift.

However, Kyuzo shifted his weight and sat facing the doorway where he could pull his boots on before heading out again; ignoring his slight tiredness that, no doubt, was due to the bad-tasting medicine he had just choked down as he knew that regardless of how he might feel, work still had to be done around the village.

In no time upon exiting his quaint, wooden hut, Kyuzo had located Shichiroji who was busy directing multiple groups of farmers in their placement of supplies and basic layout of the beginnings of new homes and facilities, papers held in his hands as he spoke orders and words of praise loudly to the hard-working men of Kanna.

"Oh! Hello there, Kyuzo-dono," the spear-wielding samurai greeted good-naturedly with a small smile as he watched the red-clad swordsman silently approach his side.

Kyuzo nodded his greeting, which Shichiroji immediately understood before he turned his head back towards the front to shout another few, clipped statements to the farmers currently roping huge logs together in order to create a basic foundation for another structure.

"What's the status of the current projects?" Kyuzo asked the other blonde, his voice his usual cool, low timber as he posed his solid, straight-forward question to Shichiroji who looked a bit shocked to hear him speaking to him at all.

"We've already laid the foundations for another four homes here, and Heihachi's teams are working on another three over in that direction," Shichiroji answered his samurai comrade as he quickly pointed a mechanical finger to his left to indicate where the orange-haired samurai was located, "so, if the weather stays like how it is, we should be done a little ahead of schedule."

"Hn," Kyuzo regarded the information, looking on along with the easy-going spear-wielder by his side as the village men efficiently hoisted up their framework of connected and fashioned logs with giant, thick ropes which only the strongest of the bunch handled.

"You know, Kikuchiyo was right when he said how farmers are as sturdy as mules. It's because of these men being in top shape that this difficult work is being able to get done so smoothly," Shichiroji commented off-handedly, occasionally checking over the detailed plans in his hands to make sure that the housing dimensions were still being kept accurate as the farmers worked a little ways in front of him and the swordsman.

"Ugh…"Kyuzo voiced unexpectedly as he made to move his hand to his eyes, using his thumb and middle finger to apply pressure to his brow as the red warrior suddenly felt his drowsiness spike and his fever strongly protest him being up and moving about.

Shichiroji's attention snapped towards his blonde companion, troubled by such a sound coming from the typically wordless man, as he watched how Kyuzo had lifted a hand to his brow as he dipped his head down, seemingly in pain of some kind.

"Uh-oh; I guess that's not exactly the case with you right now, though, Kyuzo-dono," Shichiroji remarked playfully at he turned towards his ill companion with a sympathetic smile on his face, "…I had heard that you were feeling sick, so you better go back and get some rest. We'll finish up here."

Kyuzo lowered his hand from his brow, but his face was still scrunched up some, an evident frown gracing his lips at the situation, before he swallowed the spit that had collected in the back of his throat before replying to the other blonde male.

"Fine," Kyuzo said quietly, feeling defeated by everyone's considerate words coupled with his own, debilitating state and condition, as he turned on his heel and walked back to his temporary house, actually a little glad for the reprieve from work as the red-clad warrior truly did feel his very bones crave for rest and relaxation.

Shichiroji watched Kyuzo obediently trudge back to his own hut located a little ways west of their current spot for additional residences, a smirk twisting his lips at the almost pathetic sight as he brought up his mechanical hand to rub at the back of his head.

"…poor guy," the spear-wielder remarked out loud to no one before turning his attention back to the farmers and their tasks at hand, mentally noting that Kyuzo must really not have been feeling well since he had easily accepted his order to go back home to rest without so much as a murderous glare directed his way.

X

The moment Kyuzo stepped back inside his simple, straw and wood hut, it was already early evening, rendering all of his surroundings painted a lovely purple-navy color that shooed away all of the previous, brighter colors of the day, and the blonde samurai wanted nothing more than to just flop down upon his resting spot and slip into a deep, effortless slumber.

However, years piled upon years of highly-coordinated discipline via severe adherence to Bushido and the harsh demands of wartime, made Kyuzo resist his urge to act so thoughtlessly as he carefully slipped out of his long, warm coat and folded it as per his mentally-ingrained routine.

Boots were toed off by the wooden floorboards and Kyuzo stripped off the oddly-shaped black fabric that ran the length of his back, crossed up and around towards his chest and created his high collar, which left him wearing only his lightly striped, wide-necked black shirt and flat black pants.

His bedding was efficiently laid out and organized in his unofficially assigned place and Kyuzo heavily sat down on top of the blankets, merely taking a good moment to breath deeply, clear his mind that had been thoroughly troubled before, and try to relax all of his uncomfortably lax muscles before properly lying down.

In truth, the red-eyed warrior had pulled a few muscles in his right shoulder that night of their battle in the freezing rain, as the swordsman's techniques did involve a wide range of long, far-reaching moves, never going for mere simplicity in his kills and cuts, which had rendered his shoulders to be broad and well-muscled, but sometimes rather sore from so much extended use.

Lifting his left hand to his right shoulder, Kyuzo squeezed the firm, solid flesh in a harsh grasp, already wringing out most of his dull pain as he let his strong, calloused fingers massage over the aching muscles as he sighed out his relief.

Satisfied with the improvement of his shoulder and definitely feeling his drowsiness pull at the better of him, Kyuzo slid his lean, nicely-sculpted body underneath the couple of blankets and laid down on his back to stare up at the vaulted ceiling before drifting off to sleep.

Half-lidded eyes blinked slowly at the familiar but shadowed structure above his head, his tiredness seeming to weight more and more down upon his very being the more he stayed silent and unmoving, and it was with a quick burst of half-formed energy that Kyuzo lifted a hand to his forehead to check his own fever before letting his arm plop down on the sleep-mat with his hand up by his face – the blonde, ill warrior quickly falling into a fitful sleep.

X

Several hours later into a much more dense and dreary time at night, Katsushiro had been asked by Kirara to check on Kyuzo one last time before turning in himself, an order the green-haired youth was all-too willing to oblige the water priestess and see through.

It was with practically noiseless tactics that Katsushiro approached Kyuzo's designated hut, knowing with a bit of shameless pleasure that the other farmers also occupying the living space were not there at the moment, and pushed aside the thickly-woven straw door before entering.

However, the young samurai's initial but restrained excitement came to a startling stand-still as he beheld with worried, emerald eyes as the deadly blonde samurai lie on his back, one hand up near his face, as his whole, lean body shivered from the onslaught of his fever and cold.

With careful, silent footsteps, Katsushiro stepped closer and closer to the restlessly sleeping samurai, still unable to help but take in his flawlessly handsome features even though he was suffering, as the Okamoto kept his eyes glued to that pale face and alluring, tempting neckline, just watching how Kyuzo breathed, how he looked as he closed more and more distance in between them.

Once Katsushiro stood over Kyuzo's subtly shivering form, long and thought-provoking underneath those thin blankets, the green-haired young man swallowed thickly before mindfully dropping to his knees, a plan of what he should do already forming inside his racing mind.

The fledgling samurai stared at Kyuzo's face, interested in every wince, every harsh or haggard breath of air that left him as the ex-bodyguard fought to remain asleep despite his illness, as Katsushiro quickly pulled his sword out from his black leather holster so he may place it off to the side.

Katsushiro's slender hands easily unlatched the buttons adorning the front of his predominantly black jacket before the thick garment was also laid aside, just as Kyuzo lolled his head the other way in his sleep.

Katsushiro absentmindedly licked his lips at the sight of the creamy, well-honed skin that beautifully crafted Kyuzo's elegant collarbone and shoulders, as the green-eyed man hurriedly removed his white and black long-sleeved shirt; Katsushiro's nerves finally starting to make his movements more hurried, more urgent as his fingertips tingled and he had to move his tongue around inside his mouth for moisture.

Feeling a bit bold with his actions, as well as genuinely concerned over Kyuzo's troubling condition, Katsushiro carefully moved Kyuzo's blankets off of him, revealing long, strong limbs encased in effortlessly seductive black that mercilessly clung to his curves and form as he lie on top of his mat, before Katsushiro gently straddled Kyuzo's trim waist.

Katsushiro silently blew out the air he had been unconsciously holding once he successfully settled both of his clothed legs on either side of Kyuzo's thighs, the Okamoto starting to feel a bit chilled as well from having his chest exposed and nerves on fire, before he softly planted his hands on Kyuzo's lower abdomen and began trailing them upwards on the slumbering samurai.

The more Katsushiro moved his trembling hands up along Kyuzo's stomach and towards his chest, the more Kyuzo's black shirt was bunched up near his collarbone, letting Katsushiro marvel unabashedly at perfectly-tapered sides that formed an incredibly sexy waistline and a tightly-muscled stomach where only a few scars ran over the hard ridges of muscle there.

Katsushiro swallowed hard again, his eyes glued to such battle-hardened excellence, such enticing features that served to wholly reaffirm to the green-haired young man that every one of his inner passions and feelings of infatuation towards the blonde…was without fault.

Both men made bare to the waist, Katsushiro slowly lowered down his chest to Kyuzo's larger one, his hands on either side of Kyuzo's head for balance in his movements, as he gradually allowed for more and more of his weight to settle on top of the older male, knowing that the flesh-on-flesh contact would provide adequate warmth and comfort to the ill-ridden warrior who had seemed to be freezing upon Katsushiro entering the hut.

Katsushiro's shining jade gaze softened considerably as he kept his face hovering over his idol and obsession, losing himself quite vastly in how he could feel every one of Kyuzo's delicious chest and stomach muscles press up against his own body as the blonde still shivered slightly underneath him.

However, just as Katsushiro had predicted, it was only a matter of sheer seconds before Kyuzo visibly calmed down with Katsushiro lying on top of him, sharing his warmth and natural body heat, as the blonde-haired warrior's breathing quieted down and became less forced to pass through those parted, luscious lips.

"You know…Great Kyuzo…"Katsushiro whispered to the handsome, sleeping blonde, half-lidded, green eyes lovingly sweeping over the long, graceful lines down the side of Kyuzo's face and neck as he spoke also wistfully to the man just inches below him, "…even though you might kill me about this later, I think I really…really like being on top of you."

No reply, just the master dual-sword wielder continuing to breathe in normal, measured breaths as Katsushiro all but melted on top of his long, athletic form – the green-eyed youth almost coming apart every time he felt Kyuzo's heart beat inside his chest and reverberate throughout his own body in turn.

Kyuzo just looked so effortlessly peaceful, finally comfortable despite his fever and Katsushiro was more than humbled at the fact that it was because of him that he was so.

With certain, fluid grace in his movements, the captivated Okamoto dipped his head down low until just the very tips of his petal-soft lips touched Kyuzo's neck, and pressed slow, feather-light kisses to the exposed flesh there, unable to resist the temptation of such perfection right before his eyes any longer.

The touch of his lips against the blonde warrior's skin was kept cotton-soft and completely mindful as Katsushiro gingerly rubbed his button-nose against the bottom of Kyuzo jaw, simply relishing in his fresh, unique scent of light mahogany while he used his nose to tenderly brush away some of Kyuzo's blonde locks from his cheek – the green-haired youth truly savoring everything about the incapacitated older man lying underneath him, blissfully unaware of all of Katsushiro's loving ministrations and moments of utter cherishing.

The fact that there were no protests, no words saying otherwise, nothing from the other man about had Katsushiro at his wits' end, positively dying to do more with his blonde-haired obsession who enticed him in every possible way that had Katsushiro considering that even if it really did mean death for him as he so mused, this body, this man…would be worth it.

Katsushiro placed another candy-sweet kiss to Kyuzo's collarbone, just under his throat; the gesture truly speaking of the younger man's genuine caring for the older man before him; before he breathed his final, whispered words of hope against the impossibly smooth and inviting skin before deciding that he would need to leave his handsome, lethal swordsman.

"I have to get you to fall for me…just as I fell for you…Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro whispered contemplatively to the untouchable and silent man sleeping just underneath his lips, his touch, looking like a misunderstood angel that only needed someone else to lie there with him and know him, "…I have to; I can't go on if I don't…you're just so…beautiful."

X

The next morning…

Kyuzo was gradually roused from his sleep by the partially audible sounds of two or more people speaking from outside his hut, the swordsman quickly ascertaining that the topic was, in fact, him.

Kyuzo blinked tiredly as he tried to eavesdrop on the conversations going on without him, still not moving out of bed just yet as he only took to keeping still and lying on his back amongst his slightly ruffled blankets.

"...he'll need stronger doses of medicine for awhile…"

That sounded like Kirara as the ex-bodyguard could recognize that worried, high-pitched voice anywhere.

But with whom was she speaking?

Kyuzo blinked away more drowsiness as he kept his keen ears perked and ready to hear the voice of the person with whom the water priestess was speaking and obviously explaining something about his condition.

"…I can watch him and make sure he takes his medicine. It won't be a problem, Lady Kirara."

Katsushiro.

Kyuzo licked the roof of his dry mouth, greatly in need of some water, but unwilling to simply call out to either one of them and interrupt what was going on, even if his body did feel quite heavy and his muscles lethargic.

The blonde samurai closed his eyes again with a small sigh, trying to build up enough short-term strength so he could get out of bed and retrieve some water on his own…before…

"He looks kind of cute when he's asleep," mused a small but highly cynical girl's voice from his doorway all of a sudden, prompting the pseudo-sleeping samurai to frown in response to such a statement which was followed by a few chuckles that sounded more like the hissing of a snake.

"I don't know; he still looks pretty scary to me," added Komachi to her friend's off-handed comment about Kyuzo, this making the blonde warrior finally open his eyes again and look over in their direction.

Okara and Komachi were both peeking inside Kyuzo's hut with huge smiles on their faces, having obviously gotten passed Kirara's attention while she was busy speaking with Katsushiro, so they may look over one of the famed seven samurai whom they had heard had caught a cold and was lain up in bed for a while.

"Girls, get out of there this instant; you're being very rude!" Kirara suddenly piped up to them both, making them quickly duck away from the water priestess as they scampered away from Kyuzo's doorway and off into the bright sunlight of the day, something the dual-sword wielder was already extremely grateful for from the water priestess.

"So, I guess the medicine last night didn't help…?" Kirara offered empathetically as she stepped closer to the fierce warrior whom she had met in Kougakyou as he sat up from his spot in bed and could not help but drop his broad shoulders a bit from feeling in such poor shape.

The water priestess knew that his silence was his answer and she was not off-put in the least as she sat down in front of him and immediately brought up a hand to his forehead.

"How do you feel, Great Samurai?" Kirara asked; her worry evident in her voice as she had obviously noticed that Kyuzo's fever was still, in fact, present and making the typically steadfast and strict samurai look quite terrible and run-down.

"I've been better," Kyuzo answered with quiet sarcasm in his baritone voice as he kept his tired and newly-awakened eyes lowered as he simply blinked at her concerned touches and questions.

Kirara swallowed, her brow furrowed as she digested his words and took in his slightly slumped and, if she had not known better, depressed sight as he kept his hands in his blanket-covered lap and his eyes completely downcast from hers or anything else.

"Well, I'm going to change that;" Kirara said, her features becoming schooled with positivism as she spoke with firm, resilient words that did succeed in making Kyuzo lift his gaze from nothing to wearily meet her own, "I'll get started right away on some new medicine for you, and I'm going to have Katsushiro-kun look after you for the time being."

Kyuzo blinked at her iron-clad words, and was just about to say something in reply before he suddenly felt Kirara place one of her delicate hands on top of his and deliver a meaningful, comforting squeeze, any words that he had been intent on speaking quickly being forgotten as the look in her eyes was clearly expressive as to how she still had something she needed to convey.

"I can't help but feel responsible that you're like this, so I'm going to do everything I can to help you get better, Great Samurai," Kirara offered solemnly, her words speaking of friendship and bonds to the loner samurai, obligatory emotion brought on by situation and sacrifice that had easily given way to a much more solid means for understanding between the priestess and all of the recruited warriors.

Kyuzo's quiet surprise at the young lady's words and actions smoothly transitioned into a mutual understanding as well, and it was with genuine appreciation that the dual-sword wielder replied back to her.

"Thank you," Kyuzo replied simply but significantly, anything else being unnecessary to say as the smile on Kirara's face proved that their understanding of one another was entirely real.

"You're welcome, Great Kyuzo," Kirara said warmly, taking back her hand as she made to stand back up and take her leave respectfully, "Katsushiro-kun shall be here shortly with some water and tea for you. Do you feel like eating now?"

Kyuzo shook his head to imply the negative and Kirara nodded at his answer.

"I understand, but I must insist that you drink something," Kirara added hopefully, poignantly as she eyed his seated form and blood-colored half-lidded eyes just barely visible through all that thick, soft blonde hair.

Kyuzo, despite himself and his current state, curved his lips into a small smirk at the water priestess' mock-scolding words at him whose only intention was for his well-being, as his smile at her was out of gratitude and perhaps a bit of self-pity at the fact that not too many people had really ever cared enough to make sure that he was taking proper care of himself.

"Right," he said curtly but not harshly, pleasing her immensely as she nodded happily, smiling a nice smile his way as well, before turning around and walking out of his hut to set off to complete her work with making more stronger dosages of medicine and whatever else should be asked of her from her people.

Once he was alone inside of his serene, sun-light streaked hut again, Kyuzo took the opportune moment to stretch his neck as he angled his jaw from side to side, working out any stiffness in the muscles there which, as he had learned long ago, also helped in making his shoulders relieve some tension as well.

Just as he did the night before, Kyuzo lifted a hand to his problematic right shoulder and squeezed the solid, bared muscles hard with his fingers, digging his thumb into the side of the broad curve his athletic build had incurred before making slow, circular rotations with his thumb and forefinger to massage his own flesh as harshly or softly as he saw fit.

Kyuzo briefly shifted his gaze toward his shoulder in his hand, examining the sore patches that adorned mainly the bottom area before his bicep started, knowing with a bit of displeasure that his pain, in fact, due to a minor but highly-annoying strain, before a not-so subtle sound from the hut entrance made the blonde quickly snap his attention in that direction, his features of mild but disciplined surprise.

Cool, solemn red met curious, stunning green as Kyuzo watched Katsushiro enter into his hut with a steaming cup of tea in his hands and casually step towards him even though their mutual gaze never broke, one assessing; the other cautious.

"I can um…help you with that if you'd like…?" Katsushiro posed rather quizzically to the black-clad warrior, noting with a bit of spiked interest that Kyuzo had mindlessly dropped his left hand back into his lap from clearly holding his right shoulder.

Kyuzo said nothing in reply as he dropped Katsushiro's unwavering gaze, favoring to look at the wooden planks making up the floor right in front of him as he could still sense the younger male's movements while Katsushiro politely set down his cup of tea by his closest hand and automatically maneuvered to sit directly behind the dual-sword wielder on top of his blankets.

Kyuzo's eyebrows knitted together, his look that of haughty disapproval, as he turned his head and was about to say something to the effect of having Katsushiro leave his facility straight away, but instantly groaned out loud as he felt two, insatiably resolute hands latch onto the exposed area in between his neck and shoulders and grip hard.

Tea forgotten about, initial startling being completely fleeting, Kyuzo's blazing red eyes slipped close in precious, pillow-soft comfort as his vastly relief-laden mind only briefly considered the amusing idea of how this was the second time that Kyuzo's confusion had been ultimate silenced and dismissed by the feeling of Katsushiro's hands on his back.

"Where does it hurt? Tell me, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro cooed almost pleadingly from behind the older male, sitting on his knees in order to have some leverage over him as he used his hands to squeeze over and over again at the acutely-muscled area leading down to Kyuzo's broad shoulders and arms, knowing that such an area was always affected by fighting and wielding of heavy swords.

Kyuzo groaned again, positively in love with being able to feel years of strict, upheld behavior and times of utter strife simply melt away in astoundingly large, cleansing quantities from his over-worked and always-alert muscles being underneath Katsushiro's hands, before saying quietly, "…shoulders."

Complying right away with Kyuzo's single, spoken word, Katsushiro moved his deft, blissful hands to both of the blonde's squared, strong shoulder and pulled at them hard with his fingers.

Kyuzo's head fell forward, another heavy, grateful sigh escaping his lips, as he unconsciously leaned his body backwards into Katsushiro's seemingly life-saving touch, relishing in the magnificent sensations that were bestowed upon him and his generally aching body each and every time the green-haired young man gripped at his muscles in just the right way.

Katsushiro, in response to seeing Kyuzo practically melt for him right before his eyes as he was, was in his own, personal heaven as he took in the lovely sight of the master swordsman's widely-exposed neckline and tops of his shoulders that were currently warm and relaxed underneath his hands; the little sounds and noises coming from the handsome blonde every time the green-haired youth squeezed his flesh particularly hard were beginning to become impossible for the Okamoto to take.

Careful hands applying affectionate touches against his pale, creamy skin, Katsushiro took advantage of having Kyuzo in such a mindless, totally relaxed state, as he trailed his hands up from Kyuzo's shoulders and around to the front of his chest, effectively bringing the younger man's body to be pressed up against Kyuzo's back as he brought them closer together.

Katsushiro brought his face next to Kyuzo's, his cheek being tickled relentlessly by spiky, soft locks of blonde hair, as he used a hand to gingerly tilt Kyuzo's head up and over towards him and awaiting, jade gaze.

Kyuzo eyed the young man behind him in a haze, able to feel, without so much as a glimmer of a remorseful thought in the process, as those slender fingers of his ran gently over his throat and jaw, making him cock his head back in Katsushiro's direction as the Okamoto breathed in Kyuzo's scent deeply before speaking to the seemingly captive warrior in his loose, meaningful embrace.

"I hope I made you feel a little better, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro purred into Kyuzo's hair, turning his face even more towards Kyuzo's long, inviting neck as he trailed his fingers currently resting against the blonde's jaw up to merely ghost over his cheek, dangerously close to the older man's parted lips as the latter kept his head turned towards Katsushiro and listened to his velvety words.

Kyuzo involuntarily lifted a hand up from his lap, his half-lidded eyes still weary with extreme comfort and relaxation as it had felt like even Katsushiro's very words to him had been another tension-reducing caress against his flesh, and had begun to reach his deadly fingers up to also touch the younger man in return; mindlessly desiring to also feel that vibrant, emerald hair slide in between his fingers, to feel that porcelain, flawless skin of Katsushiro's cheek underneath his sword-calloused fingertips; but quickly stilled mid-way through the gesture and sharply looked the other way.

Kyuzo replaced his hand back in his blanket-covered lap; purposefully keeping his eyes on the farthest corner of the room as he struggled to put his somewhat scattered senses back together and avoid as much of Katsushiro's presence as possible.

"You should be getting back," Kyuzo spoke evenly to the young man behind him as he eyed the little ceramic cup of tea out in front of him on the floorboards, unable to clearly identify at the moment why he felt so utterly off-set and disrupted, like something deep inside of him had been compromised and thoroughly rattled from being with the green-haired fledgling samurai again.

"Yes, of course," Katsushiro replied dutifully as he mindfully stood up from his spot behind his blonde-haired obsession and swiped his hands against the front of his clothes to remove any invisible dirt – his actions only serving to buy his eyes more time observing the wordless samurai as he finally picked up his cup of tea and began to sip the hotly-brewed liquid in measured, unhurried sips.

Kyuzo kept his eyes closed as he sipped his tea and listened to the soft footfalls of his comrade as the latter approached the door, perhaps too timid to look up the puzzling Okamoto male so soon after admittedly completely lowering his guard to such an unthinking, uncaring point with him, but a sudden in Katsushiro's steps snatched the blonde samurai's masked attention right away.

"Lady Kirara should arrive soon with medicine, and then I'll come back later to check on you;" Katsushiro informed the ill-feeling samurai and object of his every desire and wish on this earth as he eyed his peaceful, seated form with admiration and a certain enriched tone in his voice as he added, "…perhaps I can continue where I'd left off, Kyuzo-dono."

Kyuzo quickly snapped his eyes open and towards the doorway, but only to see the hanging straw mat swinging back into its place as Katsushiro had obviously left immediately after speaking such cryptic but startling words to him.

Kyuzo dropped his shoulders as he lowered his gaze to his lap again, his cup of tea being held in between both of his hands, as he chewed over all of his recent information regarding the Okamoto samurai in his mind, completely bewildered at Katsushiro's words and actions, touches and everything that had gone unspoken by him as well.

There was definitely the green-haired young man was not telling the dual-sword wielder, something that Kyuzo decided he could not simply turn and look the other way as it was directly affecting him too.

"…_perhaps I can continue where I'd left off…"_

Kyuzo sighed silently through his nose, considering Katsushiro's more than disturbing parting words to him before he had taken his leave, instantly making the blonde's mind overflow with questions as to what exactly the younger man had meant in saying that.

It had been said with hope, with a certain taunt or hint of playfulness…perhaps even with a sultry undertone located just beneath what the spoken words actually meant, and it was greatly bothering the stoic swordsman.

However, the thing that bothered Kyuzo the most was the mysterious, unavoidable fact that he had plainly lost all sense of self, of duty, of discipline, everything…as he had felt and taken in just how Katsushiro's hands moved across his body – from squeezing the muscles in his shoulders to gently trailing up his throat until he reached his chin, the Okamoto's impossibly soft fingers against his skin had felt like some kind of divine blessing, an unworldly reprieve from all of his problems and worries so he may just simply accept such courageous, unreserved actions towards his person.

No one was able to touch Kyuzo the way in which Katsushiro had already succeeded, and his eyes…the green-haired man's voice had portrayed exactly what had been in his eyes; eyes that Kyuzo could still remember from meeting Katsushiro in the pond the other day where he beheld such a steadfast, resilient gaze that contained so much passion, so much untapped emotion that Kyuzo had thought that he would be consumed in a beautiful, striking sea of jade should he stare for too long.

But why?

For what reasons were Katsushiro's gazes so intense towards him, so significant with unmentioned meanings and purposes that glinted against a deep green canvas?

What would explain those lingering touches against his skin that screamed for something else, something more – such meaning behind Katsushiro's evident desire to touch Kyuzo's body and be able to feel his warmth, his existence was a puzzle in itself to the typically alone and unapproachable samurai.

Why was the Okamoto ultimately trying to get closer to the ever-collected and statuesque Kyuzo?

Kyuzo mercilessly turned these questions and more over and over inside his mind, before a gasp was suddenly stolen from his lips and his stunning, crimson eyes rose up from lingering on his tea as the black-clad warrior suddenly recalled something else, something…that he had thought had only been a dream.

"…_I have to; I can't go on if I don't…you're just so…beautiful…"_

X

_Author's Note_: I can't believe I'm doing this. XD What can I say; I just re-watched the anime, and I was like…yeah, I'll write another story lol. Anywho, PLEASE drop me line and let me know how I'm doing and where you think I should take this story. THANKS!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_**Third Person POV**_

Two days later…

Standing amidst the thick, comforting forestry that surrounded Kanna Village with tall, proud trees and an endless collage of rich green, purple, and chocolate brown, spotted with scattered dots of brilliant white, Kyuzo solemnly closed his eyes and filled his chest with the light, crisp breeze that pushed passed him and all the natural beauty around him.

Kyuzo only opened his eyes and exhaled his trapped air once the fresh gust of aromatic air ended and had left him feeling comfortably still and strong, like an unmovable pillar in the midst of natural change – the ex-bodyguard feeling at total peace and harmony with himself as he had chosen to stop his walk at this particular spot where the lovely foliage was a bit denser and closer together, allowing for his every viewpoint to be filled with various plants and trees of all shapes and sizes that blotted out the clear, late afternoon sky above.

With expert, familiar grace, Kyuzo brought his hands to the top and bottom of his long, red sheath fastened onto his back, and pulled out both of his identical, modified swords with commanding elegance as he shifted his body into a wide, highly-advanced fighting stance – the sword in his left hand poised for offense while his right was for defense.

With a half-moon sweep of his bent, left leg against the cool ground below, Kyuzo's swords and body raced into a blur of silver and crimson, his right hand, which held his sword in the opposite fashion, swung in a great arc above his head while his left sliced evenly directly in front of his core; the extremely coordinated movements displaying that of precision-killing of enemies that might have approached from all angles.

With a knowing twirl of his fingers, both of his long, heavy swords were held in a proper, offensive manner, as Kyuzo brought both of his swords up high and then swung them down in a crescent shape so his arms ended up spread wide at either side and his form bent down onto one knee, making for a huge, dual slice that greatly resembled that of a maestro conducting his orchestra into a grand symphony.

Since falling quite ill a few days ago, Kyuzo had not trained with his swords let alone be able to do much around the village, so practicing now with his beloved, matching swords in perfect solitude, surrounded by such staggering beauty, the ex-bodyguard could not refrain himself from doing so as the mere act also served to deliver great calmness and serenity to the samurai, easing his troubles and hushing his mind while his muscles flexed and relieved tension.

Swords were leveled in a paralleling display of master swordsmanship before his torso in a completely defensive maneuver of wielding two swords as Kyuzo got to his feet and quickly spun his body around as he took a measured step forward, his blades creating a perfect circle of shining, blue light that practically resonated from the sharpened, well-honed metal as he kept his arms reaching wide while the movements of his body produced the immense killing power behind such a devastating and obscurely-angled attack.

Kyuzo was in absolute serenity in this simple but breathtaking moment, his mind brought to such a tranquil, unthinking state that could only be accurately described as when one succumbs to the glorious and hard-earned mindlessness brought on by Zen relaxation, as his muscle memory moved his lethal, well-trained body on its own and he was able to truly not be bothered by any one thing on this planet.

The trees previously crowding around the silent samurai fell with solid, timed thuds against the hard, unforgiving ground below, their sounds and inevitable renovations to his surroundings not disturbing Kyuzo in the least as he poised one sword behind his back, purposed to have stopped any enemy encounters from the rear, while his other arm came from over his head as he turned on the balls of his feet to deliver a high-placed slice to another tree and making the large, living plant move away from the perfectly horizontal sever and slide towards the ground also – his ending position rendering his blades again running parallel to each other but with one arm extended outward to the side and his other from behind his back.

And it was after this slightly thicker and more aged tree fell from his view to land heavily at his feet did Kyuzo's lips part and a tired sigh of air escape him – his surrounding scenery much brighter than when he had first arrived due to the tree-slicing he had performed as a result of his practicing, allowing for more of the subdued afternoon glows of transitioning sunlight to welcome him in its wake.

Kyuzo dropped his stance, resting his arms down at his sides, still holding each of his heavy but balanced swords and feeling the once-cool metal of the unguarded hilts become much warmer by his own sweat and body-heat.

The fierce blonde warrior frowned as he bitterly accepted that he was winded and fatigued already because of his illness and probably should not push himself any further for the moment – Kyuzo briefly picturing the horrendous scowl that would become Kirara's face should she find out that he had even done this much while still being in his condition.

With evident displeasure and disdain in his movements, Kyuzo begrudgingly placed his long, deadly swords back into their shared sheath before the red-clad warrior brought his hands to the front folds of his long, crimson coat, parting the fabric from his body easily so his overheated physique could directly feel the crisp, afternoon air course over his muscles and hopefully regain a more normal temperature throughout.

Knowing that he was just a little ways away from the same, rock-engulfed pond that he often frequented, Kyuzo flung his heavy coat on top a low-extended tree branch before turning towards the appropriate direction and stepping around the fallen trees he had made in order to arrive there; the ex-bodyguard practically able to smell the pure, clear water from where he was.

Kyuzo had felt instantly refreshed the moment he had shed the thick fabric of his coat from his body and was able to feel the cool atmosphere grace his exposed shoulders with a welcomed, chilly touch, offering the blonde warrior much better sensations to ease his overall form upon exercising so demandingly as he had.

Kyuzo stepped passed the remaining, green shrubs which were later followed by the familiar, gold-colored dirt pathway that bordered the quaint, little pond of which he calmly approached the edge.

Long, black-clad legs squatted down as lean, powerful arms reached towards the water as Kyuzo slipped his hands into the icy liquid, bringing up his large, cupped hands full of water to his face and splashing the clear fluid against his warmed cheeks and nose.

Lowering his hands into the water again, Kyuzo opened his eyes briefly as he parted his lips and breathed with such ease and comfort, relishing in the rejuvenating feeling of rinsing away the sweat from his brow as the sharp, handsome features of his face dripped tiny pearls of water back into the pond below as Kyuzo simply watched his own reflection for a small, thoughtful moment.

His hands still submerged in the water, Kyuzo lingered as he hovered over the round, collection of water that few others really knew about, the blonde-haired samurai observing with a bit of mild disinterest how deeply set in red his naturally half-lidded eyes were, how long and straight the bridge of his nose was, and how pale and fair his skin seemed to be against his bright, sun-light-colored hair that partially covered such features.

Kyuzo took a deep breath as he blinked away such worthless, unproductive thoughts before bringing up more water from his hands and casting the silvery, life-giving liquid onto his face again; swiping a finger at his nose once he was finished to clear away the few drops that threatened to fall from the tip.

Thoughts back in order, calmness back in its place within the stoic warrior; perhaps bordering on blatant melancholy; Kyuzo stood up to his full, tall height and turned on his heel to head back into the forest and retrieve his coat and beloved swords, also knowing that he was due back in the village any time now since he did want his disappearing acts to go noticed.

As the ex-bodyguard began trekking back through the thick foliage, grateful for his short break from the rest of the village and his current living quarters, Kyuzo lifted a hand to his eyes and delicately rubbed the sensitive flesh with his fingers, his veteran samurai skills already knowing where to go and how to navigate accurately back to his previous location amongst the mazes of trees.

Just as Kyuzo finished pinching the remaining water out of his gorgeous, scarlet eyes, his senses flared with the knowledge that he was not alone, that someone was not only purposefully getting closer to him, but watching him and purposefully trying to mask their presence as well.

Kyuzo dropped his hand from his eyes before speaking, the water cooling pleasantly over his face and neck as he walked and could already see his striking, red coat and sheath right where he had left them against the one, particularly low-reaching tree in the small clearing that he had made.

"What is it, Katsushiro?" Kyuzo asked in his ever-direct and straight-forward nature, knowing that said youth was about thirty feet and three-hundred and fifteen degrees northwest of him, hiding from initial view yet watching the blonde closely.

Upon being found out, the green-haired Okamoto stepped out from the tree he had been hiding behind and approached a still-walking Kyuzo as the blonde went directly to his coat and swords in order to be reunited with his practically sacred objects as quickly as possible.

"How did you know it was me?" the younger man asked sheepishly but also genuinely curious as to how Kyuzo had sensed his presence even though he was, in fact, surrounded on all sides by various plant-life and things that could have easily obscured any samurai's ability to sense intruders.

"It's your smell," Kyuzo began to explain calmly, totally surprising the Okamoto with his willingness to continue with their conversation, as the green-haired man had hurried to his side once he saw Kyuzo approach his coat and reach his hand up to pull the long, heavy garment from the tree branch, "…it's different."

The cotton and leather making up Katsushiro's attire and sword holster around his hip did, in fact, provide a completely unique scent to battle against the relatively stagnant fragrance of the trees that Kyuzo was more than familiar with at this point, meaning that the green-haired youth had actually been quite easy to point out considering how even the very current within the surrounding atmosphere had changed due to the youth's racing thoughts that almost made literal noise for the highly-astute samurai to pick up on.

"I see…"Katsushiro said, still considering the older man's somewhat ambiguous but meaningful words to him as he stepped closer to the black-clad samurai, purposefully getting a little too close to him as to prevent the blonde from putting on his coat straight away, "…I think it's amazing that you can do that, Kyuzo-dono. I guess it's…just another reason for me to…"

Kyuzo's eyes betrayed his seemingly disinterested nature, as he quickly sought out the young man's gaze upon hearing him trail off with his words as he had; his large, pale hands mindlessly abandoning their task of pulling down his coat from the nearby tree branch, as he turned his body the rest of the way to properly face the Okamoto, genuinely curious as to why Katsushiro had abruptly stopped his own sentence.

However, the moment Kyuzo had cast his lovely red gaze upon the green-eyed young man, only briefly being able to search the latter's features for some kind of answer, did the fledgling samurai back Kyuzo up against the tree he was standing next to, Katsushiro firmly pressing the front of his lean body to Kyuzo's larger, more powerful form in order to keep him there.

"...it's just another reason for me to find you so attractive…Great Kyuzo," Katsushiro finished at last, his deep, jade eyes boring relentlessly up into Kyuzo's scarlet gaze that widened upon hearing such purred, sultry words being spoken to him without the tiniest hint of hesitation.

Katsushiro peered up into Kyuzo's shock-stricken face that was looking incredulously down at him, the younger man's height only coming up to the blonde warrior's collarbone, as the green-haired man was quick to notice that Kyuzo was not pushing him away like that time in the pond; the blonde-haired samurai completely enthralled by those half-lidded green eyes searching his own while he could feel Katsushiro's small, lithe frame positively sink into his own as he was made not to move.

"…you don't know what you're saying," Kyuzo attempted to say harshly so as to provoke the Okamoto to finally release him from that startling, emerald gaze and end their capture of him – the ex-bodyguard noticing with a bit of cloudy consciousness that his own hands were free at his sides, but the will to place them on the younger man to move him away was simply not within him.

Katsushiro blinked his gorgeous eyes at Kyuzo's handsome face still watching him closely, before slowly bringing his slender hands up to Kyuzo's black-clad chest and smoothing his fingers out across the soft, flexible material that stretched across the hard, solid planes that contoured such masculine perfection in his eyes.

Kyuzo visibly twitched from the intimate gesture which came before words from the green-haired youth who continued to press his own trim, slender body even more against the blonde samurai currently trapped in between his enchanting gaze and the solid tree at his back, as he let his hands carefully trail up Kyuzo's pectoral muscles until his fingers reached that pale, smooth neck.

The older samurai gasped at the sinfully slow and blatantly tempting touches, one blonde eyebrow quirking up as he quickly flashed his gaze over to his swords currently strapped to his coat still within arms' reach by his side, as Kyuzo could not help but notice that Katsushiro was sliding his hands around his neck, effectively bringing them even closer together at the Okamoto slipped his lovely eyes closed before him.

"Stop this now," Kyuzo said fleetingly, his typically untouched and distant body tensing up substantially as he felt Katsushiro loop his own fingers together at the base of his neck; the younger samurai's chest sliding up his own as he had obviously stood on his tip-toes to give himself a little more height.

"I can't…forgive me," Katsushiro breathed sensuously against Kyuzo's lips, his eyes closed as both men's noses touched from being so close; the younger man's embrace was desperately strong around Kyuzo's wide shoulders as Katsushiro's angelic-looking face was angled perfectly up at his blonde idol and obsession to fully indulge in.

Then, in a moment of pure, mind-stopping bliss, Kyuzo felt Katsushiro's supple lips carefully press against his own; the texture being as soft as the finest velvet and as warm as any ray from the morning sun as he also could just barely acknowledge how the younger male had quickly wrapped even more of his slender arms around his neck so he may hug him down some to his shorter stature.

Kyuzo's whole, battle-hardened body shivered slightly as he felt Katsushiro's warm, inviting breath flitter across his cheeks as the green-haired young man pulled his luscious, pink lips away from the older man's perfectly-shaped mouth but only to kiss the man in his arms again, this time with more confidence, more growing need and pressing weight that was evident to how he was hasty to feel Kyuzo's petal-soft lips on his again, his forbidden warmth, his everything that he wanted to tap into so badly that it made all else fade to a blurry, unimportant black around them.

Delicate fingers slid up into unruly, blonde spikes, tugging gently as the Okamoto curled his hands into loose fists against Kyuzo's scalp and relished in the feathery-soft texture of Kyuzo's thick, light-colored mane, Katsushiro purring softly against Kyuzo's warm mouth in the process, which only served to completely shatter Kyuzo's initial indecision and half-formed hope that the fledgling samurai would snap out of this reverie and back away quickly - the older samurai feeling his long-since forgotten heart positively ache inside his throbbing chest in how deliciously needy the green-haired young man was being with him as he seemed to take the simplest pleasure in just being so close to him and touching him.

Kyuzo felt his hard-earned and practically stone-carved resolve disintegrate within himself as Katsushiro genuinely continued to keep them as close as possible, taking pleasure in in Kyuzo's every exhaled breath of air that ghosted across his flesh and heated his lips even more as he kept his tempting lips light but determined against Kyuzo's mouth, as if asking for permission, for acceptance; none of it lost on the older samurai in the least as he could not help but let go of his internal uncertainty and forbearance as he, in turn, felt completely humbled and engrossed in those small hands clinging to him for dear life, sending tiny jolts of sizzling, red-hot pleasure to course through his veins every time his hair was softly pulled, and just the sheer feeling of someone's lips against his own…was spectacular to the loner swordsman.

Kyuzo noticeably relaxed as soon as he had felt Katsushiro's hands sift through his hair, the boy's lips trembling against his own ever-so slightly once he did so, all of it bordering on bringing the stoic samurai out of his right mind, and he smoothly brought both of his hands up to either side of Katsushiro's rounded, pale face, gently placing his large, sword-calloused hands against the younger man's creamy skin as he gradually but wholly gave into their simple but significant first kiss, fully accepting him at last.

Again, Katsushiro purred quietly the instant he had felt Kyuzo physically accept him and his ministrations, the blonde-haired samurai's hands on his face felt like some kind of heavenly pardon to his very soul, while his own fingers massaged Kyuzo's neck appreciatively as he leaned more of his weight against the taller, stronger form before him in a gesture that spoke of how he was at the older man's absolute mercy and would follow along with whatever he so chose.

Kyuzo's silken lips carefully parted Katsushiro's mouth open for him, his hands kept mindful against such fair, young skin of his cheeks and jaw, as he slowly slid his tongue inside the Okamoto's warm, moist cavern and immediately sought out the latter's soft tongue with his own, already making painstakingly slow strokes against the velvety, highly-receptive muscle as Kyuzo felt the young man slide his hands down from his neck to take hold of his sturdy, broad shoulders in a iron grip.

Katsushiro was beside himself with the mind-warping sensations that Kyuzo's deep, unhurried kisses bestowed upon him, the clean taste of the older man's mouth was pleasant and satisfying and it made the green-haired youth groan low in his throat as he felt Kyuzo's taller form lean forward just slightly, effective tipping the Okamoto back a little bit as the blonde warrior continued to initiate long, measured, open-mouthed kisses with the young man in his arms.

The fledgling samurai could not help but cling to Kyuzo for support, so much burning, maddening need showing in his strong grasp on Kyuzo's shoulders, as he positively lost himself in the ex-bodyguard's marvelous, surprisingly skilled kisses - the two of them only closing their tingling lips in order to briefly kiss the other man before starting another leisured, wonderful kiss so they may taste each other once more and truly savor this moment of them being together.

Hovering over the lithe form before him, Kyuzo opened his dreamy, red eyes as he lingeringly pulled his moistened lips away from Katsushiro's panting mouth, the veteran swordsman delicately moving his hands a little farther along the Okamoto's soft, precious face so that he could cradle his rounded jaw comfortably in his large palms as his fingers touched silky-soft, emerald-colored hair, prompting Katsushiro to also open his pleasantly glazed eyes to seek out the face of the man of his dreams.

Kyuzo absentmindedly licked his lips as he wordlessly watched Katsushiro's delightfully intoxicated expression as the green-eyed young man began to slide his hands down either of Kyuzo's long, black-clad arms, Katsushiro's face nuzzling briefly into one of the blonde man's palms before he gently seized Kyuzo's hands in his own.

The ex-bodyguard watched with keen, attentive eyes as Katsushiro gave him a tiny, adorable smile as he politely took Kyuzo's hands from his face but still held them in his own in between their two, intimately close bodies.

"I could definitely get used to that…"Katsushiro remarked playfully, also obscurely hinting at the fact that he did not want to be without his beloved blonde samurai after this day, this moment, as he lovingly placed a tender kiss to the inside of one of Kyuzo's upturned palms, making the latter's scarlet gaze instantly hone in on such a unsuspected and surprisingly affectionate gesture.

However, before the stoic, handsome swordsman could even begin to think of something with which to reply, he gasped quietly as he watched Katsushiro slowly kneel down in front of him, settling his weight on his knees against the cool, hard forest floor and sliding his hands out of Kyuzo's fingers once he had successfully done so.

Brilliant jade seemed to sparkle back up at the loner samurai as Katsushiro kept his lusty but naturally alluring gaze directed on Kyuzo's attractively surprised face, taking in how those soft, kiss-swollen lips of his were parted and his lovely red eyes were narrowed down at him in a questioning manner as the Okamoto placed both of his hands flat against his hips.

"Katsushiro…"Kyuzo tried to say as a warning but the last of the syllables in the youth's name came out as a unrestrained shudder as the green-haired young man began to slowly inch Kyuzo's form-fitting black pants down his hipbones, exposing only a small amount of Kyuzo's toned, lower abdomen to his hungry eyes to behold and devour.

"Please…please let me do this, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro groaned out lowly to the older samurai, his hands never ceasing in their actions of carefully lowering Kyuzo's simple black pants down just enough to where he could see the smooth-muscled contours of his beloved's flesh that tightly shaped down from Kyuzo's abdomen to his groin.

Kyuzo had been thoroughly rattled upon hearing Katsushiro literally beg to give him pleasure as he had, his lips parting even more as the blonde had wanted to say something to him, anything at all, but everything was quickly becoming irrevocably lost to the older man as he could only watch in stunned fascination as Katsushiro firmly seized his half-erect cock in his warm hand and immediately begin to slowly stroke his sensitive flesh, squeezing the base before running his hand up the hardening length so he could thumb teasingly at the slit.

"Katsushiro, what are you…ah…!"Kyuzo said rather quickly to the green-haired male on his knees before him, having to cut short his statement in favor of gasping sharply as he felt the Okamoto take to pumping him fervently now that the tall, blonde samurai's gorgeous member was fully erect in his hand and slowly dripping tiny beads of clear, smooth precome against Katsushiro's slender, moving fingers as he worked on him, stroking the handsome veteran samurai's member in hasty, begging slides of his fingers as if he was practically pleading for Kyuzo to be in need of relief from him.

Kyuzo leaned his weight heavily against the tree at his back; his air coming to him in unsteady gasps, as he was more than surprised at how much staggering and forthright passion had immediately come from the green-haired young man before him as the latter had shown nothing but deep-set determination in the way he was bringing him off to his own heart's content and, effectively, having his way with the black-clad samurai.

"I could get used to seeing you like this, too…Kyuzo-dono…I think you…look even more beautiful," Katsushiro cooed hotly to the older samurai currently trembling beneath his touch with his beautiful lips parted, his striking blonde hair looking messier than usual, and his large, broad chest heaving up and down with each, ragged breath he took as the Okamoto kept moving his hand over his length as he was.

"…_I have to; I can't go on if I don't…you're just so…beautiful."_

"Nng…"Kyuzo groaned through grit teeth as he recalled the Okamoto's whispered words to his semi-sleeping form from a few nights ago which also spoke of how the green-haired young man found the blonde warrior attractive, beautiful, and completely intriguing.

Making his movements come to a smooth halt, Katsushiro gradually stopped stroking his idol's impressive, sex-promising cock as he brought his lips to his own hand and licked up some of the loner samurai's warm precome that had gotten onto his pale skin; Katsushiro erotically running his tongue over his own thumb as his purposefully wanton gaze never left Kyuzo's striking face as he practically confessed to the older man just how much he wanted him by the sheer, sensuous look he was giving him.

"Mmm…" Katsushiro purred in a low rumble, letting Kyuzo know without words just how good he tasted and how much the Okamoto male was pleased at the highly-arousing result he was able to coax from the silent but somewhat disoriented samurai, before grasping Kyuzo's begging length at its thick, throbbing base and placing his full, pouty lips to the wide, leaking head.

Kyuzo swallowed hard, his hazed, half-lidded eyes positively glued to the forbidden spectacle playing out before him, as he watched the Okamoto slowly part his sinfully tempting lips against the tip of Kyuzo's painfully hardened flesh, purposefully allowing the blonde to feel exactly how wide he needed to open his mouth in order to properly accommodate the black-clad warrior's long, rigid length.

Katsushiro squeezed Kyuzo's base hard in his hand, his other having drifted to one of Kyuzo's hipbones for support, as he carefully let more and more of Kyuzo's solid, hot flesh enter his mouth and down his throat, cherishing thoroughly how he could feel the admirable man above him tense up dramatically before sighing out his pleasure before tugging his luscious, bottom lip in between immaculate, white teeth in order to steady his rapidly racing urges that the young man's silken, white-hot touches were igniting within him.

Upon distinguishing just how much of Kyuzo's member could go down his throat while still remaining comfortable, the fledgling samurai let Kyuzo's straining cock slide out of his moist, willing mouth, keeping just the thick head in between his lips as he ran his delightfully warm tongue up the sensitive underside of the hard, pulsating cock, practically trying to memorize all the grooves and delicious contours adorning the arousing flesh of his beloved.

Kyuzo groaned low in his throat upon feeling how Katsushiro erotically tongued and teased at his begging member, sending rivulets of red-hot pleasure to pool low in his groin and build towards an overall yearning that seemed to flood his entire body and pull noise after soft noise from his parted lips as the Okamoto continued to flick the tip of his tongue against the thick head, obligingly suckling at Kyuzo's smooth juices before taking the whole thing back down his throat in maddeningly slow movements.

Kyuzo was positively in love with how Katsushiro played with and teased his body, finding that he had become overly aroused at how the green-haired youth's ministrations to him had purposefully switched from unbelievably fast to a torturous slow, always with that burning, daring gaze being directed right in his face as the latter meticulously pulled apart the older man's feelings of reservation and, perhaps, fear with his sensuous touches that only served to add pleasure and not complete satisfaction.

While Katsushiro's hands on him had been hard and fast, his mouth was mind-shatteringly slow and leisured as the Okamoto seemed to just want to elicit as many purrs and pants as possible from the elegant, deadly blonde man above him, all of it having succeeded in totally edging Kyuzo into losing his mind and have him teetering on far too many sensations that the lonesome samurai had truly not been prepared to experience and indulge in.

The blonde samurai's god-like body was practically trembling with unspeakable need as he brought a hand to the back of Katsushiro's head, squeezing the base of the younger male's neck at his hairline in order to encourage him to take more of his straining length into his mouth as Kyuzo could feel the green-haired man lean more of his weight towards him, obliging Kyuzo's wishes in every way, as he began bobbing his head back and forth along Kyuzo's dripping length, keeping his tongue firmly pressed against the solid flesh in his mouth as he massaged every, delicious inch while he worked.

Kyuzo immediately tipped his head back, looking up to the tall, green-shaded canopy of the darkening forest, moaning in a hushed voice, as he used his gripping hand at the back of Katsushiro's head to pull the youth forward over and over so that his cock continuously slid in and out of that wonderful, talented mouth – the blonde feeling all of his accumulated frustration and heated stimulation that had coursed almost violently throughout his body quickly coming to a overwhelming boil in his groin, making Kyuzo's open-mouthed groans and gasps for air seem to topple over one another as felt his orgasm rapidly approaching.

Katsushiro moaned around Kyuzo's impressive length, loving the way that his obsession responded to him as he kept tugging him forward, effectively thrusting his cock inside of his mouth in short, staccato movements as to not choke the green-haired man, while the younger samurai kept his fingers tightly wound around Kyuzo's base as he used his hand to stroke what could not fit down his throat; all of his ministrations progressively picking up speed as he coaxed Kyuzo to reach his limit, wanting to see such forbidden beauty happen right before his eyes.

"Ha…ha…ah…" Kyuzo panted harshly as he visibly quivered upon feeling the slight tremors trail up his highly-receptive length due to Katsushiro moaning low in his throat as if it somehow brought the Okamoto some kind of vicarious pleasure to be the one pleasuring Kyuzo himself; the ex-bodyguard's already sizzling nerves and muscles warning him, screaming at him that his release was near and that if Katsushiro moaned again for him like that, his whole world would crumble.

"Nnh…moan again," Kyuzo ordered seductively, his voice sounding like lustful, dripping, silk that spoke of his pending orgasm and how he needed exactly what he had asked for in order to reach that indescribable high.

Katsushiro smiled around Kyuzo's pulsating, thrusting member, knowing by the sheer sultry tone with which Kyuzo had used to breathe his words to him that he was astoundingly close, before the Okamoto moaned again and purposefully relaxed his throat around Kyuzo's intruding member to finally receive his fallen angel's welcomed essence.

"Mmn…Katsu…"Kyuzo purred, mindlessly saying Katsushiro's nickname with a breathless, watery voice in an unforeseeable gesture of mutual, amiable feelings towards the younger, obviously infatuated man, as his grip tightened in Katsushiro's deep, emerald hair at the base of his neck, and he allowed himself to release his warm, milky seed down the Okamoto's willing throat that still allowed for his spurting cock to thrust in and out as Kyuzo pleased while he experienced his shaky, soul-splitting climax.

Katsushiro drank greedily of his handsome warrior idol as the blonde samurai came in his throat in multiple, thick shots that drenched his taste buds with its smooth, warm texture, swallowing quickly what had filled his mouth before lapping at the moist, salty tip of Kyuzo's softening length, listening intently as Kyuzo had softly, sweetly called his name to the skies above as he had reached his ultimate high with him – the green-haired young man absolutely feeling a sense of pride and personal satisfaction swell up inside of him upon incurring and witnessing such developments to take place with the loner samurai all because of his actions.

Kyuzo's usually attentive and disciplined stature was slumped forward as his large, square shoulders were completely relaxed and free of any poise whatsoever as he lazily but unwaveringly watched as Katsushiro completely released his cock from his glistening mouth before faithfully tucking him back inside of his black pants, and standing up right in front of him, a soft smile tugging at the green-haired young man's swollen lips as he, in turn, took in the heart-warming and slightly bemusing sight of the sated and pleasure-laden blonde as he was.

The Okamoto was just about to say something to the red-eyed warrior in front of him, but was quickly cut off in all of his thought processes as Kyuzo suddenly placed both of his hands on either side of his pale, rounded face and then smashed their lips together in a hurried, hot kiss that spoke of Kyuzo's evident gratitude for what Katsushiro had just done for him, and also of his own growing, undeniable affections towards the green-haired young man.

"Incredible…"Kyuzo murmured solemnly against Katsushiro's lips once he had just barely separated the two sets from each other, his hands still cradling the latter's cheeks as he gently brought his forehead to rest against the Okamoto's as he, in turn, found it increasingly difficult to bring the two of them apart now that he had experienced what he had, felt what he had, which was so much more than mere carnal pleasure.

"Kyuzo-dono…the reason why I did that…I mean, the way I feel is um…"Katsushiro began to ramble hurriedly, feeling as if he needed to utilize this precious, rare moment with Kyuzo holding onto him, looking at him with such dreamy, content eyes, and with the warrior's intoxicating taste still warm on his tongue.

"Tell me," Kyuzo offered softly, coolly; their foreheads still pressed together in a loving display as Katsushiro visibly regained a composed speech pattern as he slowly brought his hands up to either of Kyuzo's arms, just to lightly touch his fingertips to the soft fabric adorning his beloved's strong, muscled arms.

Katsushiro sighed out his anxiety before uttering another word to the astoundingly patient and well-mannered samurai before him, waiting for his explanation with lovely eyes and sweet touches – the Okamoto deciding that now was the time to confess what had been burning inside of his heart for far too long.

"I love you, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro began with such maturity and grace with his words and organization that, for a moment, Kyuzo felt like he was speaking with someone different; "...I love watching you fight…my chest aches every time you speak to only me…I admit I was…frightened by you in Kougakyou, but now I…I just want to be yours…if you'll have me."

Kyuzo gingerly rubbed the pads of his thumbs over Katsushiro's delicate cheekbones before subtly lifting his hands from the youth's cheeks but only to push back the long, green fringe that framed around the Okamoto's lovely face with his fingers as he replaced his palms against Katsushiro's creamy, impossibly smooth skin.

"Give me time," Kyuzo said simply but not harshly to the young man in his arms, Katsushiro's fingers still light and loving against either side of his toned arms, as he slowly, lingeringly pulled his hands away from Katsushiro's face so he may stand to his full height in front of him.

"Oh...of course!" Katsushiro replied as he watched Kyuzo carefully retract his long fingers from his own face, completely surprised and pleased that the stoic samurai had made such a hopeful, positive statement about his proposal versus killing him on the spot with both of his terrifying swords.

Satisfied and sated with everything that had just transpired between them, Kyuzo smirked warmly at Katsushiro's adorable expression before turning around and finally retrieving his sword sheath and great, red coat from the low-hanging tree branch, where he quickly threw his coat across his shoulders so he may push both of his arms down the length of the thick sleeves.

Katsushiro's brilliant jade eyes lowered for a moment, somewhat granting Kyuzo some respect to gather his things in peace while remaining unwatched, before a certain noise caught his immediate attention.

_Achoo...!_

Long, scarlet coat simply hanging off of his tall, lean form and not yet fastened across his body, Kyuzo's hand was covering his nose and mouth as he had somewhat angled his torso away from the younger samurai upon sneezing loudly.

Katsushiro could not help but smile as he watched his beloved samurai sniff and then grumble in obvious annoyance at his own condition before lowering his hand from his face and grimacing – the Okamoto stepping close to Kyuzo and instantly reaching out both of his hands to take hold of the folds of the blonde's coat.

"It is getting a little cold…and we've already been out here for awhile," Katsushiro remarked with a smile, his candy-sweet words hinting at the less-than innocent activities he and the warrior had just got done doing in the chilly forest, as he fastened Kyuzo's coat tightly around his body for him before smoothing his hands down Kyuzo's thickly-clothed chest, "…so I guess we should be getting back to the village now."

Kyuzo returned the smirk as he nodded in reply – the two men naturally turning towards the appropriate direction and navigating through the trees in order to return to their respective places in Kanna, knowing that they would have to inevitably part ways once they got there.

The walk back had been with silent tension brewing heavily in between the two samurai, as words of confessed feelings and burdening thoughts still hung thickly over both of their heads, making either one have brief but present moments of worry, doubt, fear, and hope – each man's procedure in going through the motions varying greatly despite the same path they walked.

However, despite any uncertainty towards future terms and implications that had still been purposefully left unclear, Kyuzo and Katsushiro also could not deny how what had happened only a few, short moments ago in the woods had been real – Kyuzo had really came apart as he had, moaning his pleasure for Katsushiro who, in turn, was pleased beyond a doubt that his gorgeous obsession was finally within his grasp and that no offer had been turned down yet.

Hope was more than alive between the two; it was thriving; which was why Katsushiro dared not speak again for fear that he might just push the pin far enough into his dream to make the fragile, glorious cloud burst right before his eyes, and Kyuzo maintained his silence during their trek back to the village as he simply did not know how to answer to such adamant claims of his person and soul at the moment.

The young man with eyes the color of aged emerald had looked at him with an even temperament and unflinching words as he had told the war-hardened dual-sword wielder his feelings of love towards him, of irrefutable interest and capture, of his desire to truly and permanently be with only him.

Katsushiro, despite his younger age and limited time with a sword in combat, spoke of beauty, pleasure, and tenderness – things that the somber and unreadable ex-bodyguard had long-since shoved away from his heart, having years upon years where he had told himself countless times that these were of such things that a samurai had no use for and that he should live without.

Kyuzo had spoken fairly when he had informed the bright-eyed Okamoto that he needed time to think.

It was nearing nightfall by the time the pair made it back to Kanna Village, and, knowing that his hut was just ahead while Katsushiro still needed to venture a little further down the dirt pathway due east, Kyuzo cast his fiery eyes on the young man by his side, holding his gaze intently for a single, scorching moment that spoke his good-bye for him, before striding specifically to his own facility.

Kyuzo walked briskly underneath a rich, violet sky where the previous day's clouds now served as darker, inkier blots against such a breath-taking canvas, before the red-clad samurai entered his simple, wooden hut that was already heavily shadowed with the evening's negative light.

Unfortunately, Kyuzo was able to see perfectly well the tiny, ceramic cup of medicine that Kirara had undoubtedly left for him by his bedside.

Kyuzo glared at the small cup as he shrugged off his long, heavy coat and folded it neatly to be placed on the right side of his sleep-mat, trying to postpone actually drinking its contents until the very last, possible moment – the silent samurai actually feeling a lot less tense now that he was back inside a darkened, quiet room with nothing and no one else around him, where the only thing to occupy himself with was his own thoughts; the act always allowing the red-clad samurai a moment of solid, precise clarity as he sorted through his matters in his own, disciplined and calmed way that enabled him to experience effortless insight only a true samurai had the fortitude to acknowledge.

Kyuzo knew that by keeping his own mouth shut, he was able to hear himself a lot more clearly.

Boots toed off by the wooden floorboard, Kyuzo licked the inside of his mouth before settling down on top of his simple bedding and begrudgingly picked up the cup, knowing that the horrible task of drinking down Kirara's medicine ultimately needed to be done and that it was only meant to help him with his illness.

Besides…Kyuzo was profoundly tired of sneezing all of the time, so if putting a stop to it meant choking down more of the water priestess' medicine, then so be it.

Quickly, Kyuzo brought the cup to his lips and tipped back the thick, awful-tasting contents to fill his mouth so he could swallow down the medicine as fast as humanly possible; having to briefly fight the unbecoming urge to throw up once he had finished the evidently stronger dosage of the wood-and-dirt-flavored concoction.

Kyuzo frowned as he sort of cleaned around his mouth and teeth with his tongue, trying to rid himself of that horrid taste quickly, while the blonde-haired samurai routinely pulled back the few blankets from his bed and slid his lean, muscular body underneath.

Kyuzo had lain down on his side, already closing his eyes as he buried more of his face into his pillow, exhaling comfortably as he brought his free hand up by his face on top of the pillow, and could easily feel every one of his muscles relax into an almost gelatinous state as his whole frame seemed to melt into his exact spot in his bed.

As Kyuzo's breathing became softer, steadier, his body not moving an inch from his accommodating resting position, the red-eyed samurai swallowed down some spit that had collected in the back of his throat as his mind began to bring certain thoughts and images back to his attention, none of it unpleasant at all for the ex-bodyguard to recall at such a peaceful, private moment, but Kyuzo could not help but still be a little perplexed as a result.

Vivid recollections of Katsushiro's lovely face peering right into his with not even the slightest hint of fear present in those deep, green eyes of his as he told Kyuzo how much he loved him, wanted to be with him, found him beautiful, and then pleasured his body with searing, forbidden touches that spoke of immeasurable emotions and desires that the Okamoto had for him.

His touches that day in the pond, the way his lithe, slender form had moved to be on top of his as they had sat in the cool, crisp water, the massage that Katsushiro had given Kyuzo as his words had fallen over his skin like warm honey, and then this day…this day where the Okamoto had completely compromised everything that Kyuzo held dear.

Kyuzo sighed thoughtfully, his sleepy eyes blinking open to temporarily look at his blackened surroundings before closing once more, as the blonde-haired samurai could not help but truthfully acknowledge that the Okamoto male had him totally mesmerized with everything that he did.

It was almost heartbreaking to the stoic samurai to recognize such genuine feelings as the phenomena also served to make Kyuzo painfully aware of how much of his life he had gone without accepting such concepts of happiness, that he had blatantly ignored or rejected such feelings that brought him inconceivable warmth and fulfillment…things that made him feel like he was finally doing right by someone worth doing right for.

It was frightening as it was exhilarating to the blanket-wrapped and resting samurai who knew, as he lie there in his simple bed unable to find sleep despite the late hour and his own tiredness, that the young, bright-eyed Katsushiro who spoke so passionately of such things that ushered in both of these emotions straight into his very core…did, in fact, make him happy.

Beauty, pleasure, and tenderness…Kyuzo knew them all when he was with the Okamoto samurai, and it was not confusing anymore; it was a blessing.

Suddenly, snapping Kyuzo out of his endless, toppling thoughts even though the dual-sword wielder did not even crack open an eye, the straw door to his hut was rustled aside as someone almost soundlessly stepped into the wooden structure and headed straight towards Kyuzo's back that faced the entrance.

Kyuzo kept his eyes closed, not intending to feign sleep, but just waiting patiently as his companion obviously shrugged off a few garments as well before maneuvering around the blonde man's long, lean form that was still lying on a side in his bed, listening.

With slow, careful movements, the intruder knelt down in front of Kyuzo who was already using his free hand to pull back his own blankets from his torso to let the person slide into bed next to him.

Quicker now, the person lain his smaller, slighter body down next to Kyuzo, facing his black-clad chest, as the ex-bodyguard obligingly draped his arm and the blankets his hand was holding, across the young form before him, allowing the latter to snuggle up to him as he pleased in order to get comfortable.

Small hands gingerly touched the blonde man's clothed chest as a lovely, rounded face pressed against the flat, hard planes there also, as Kyuzo wordlessly brought up his covering arm to the top of the person's head to remove the small, metal fasteners that he knew held up striking green hair in a simple, high pony-tail; the older samurai setting aside such troublesome objects with ease.

Kyuzo brought his outstretched hand down to the exposed cheek of the warm, slender body next to his own, lying on his side so that the two men faced each other, and gently caressed the familiar, smooth flesh underneath his hardened fingertips before craning his neck a little closer to the other's and slowly pressing a chaste, meaningful kiss to those perfect, supple lips that had knowingly angled up to meet his own.

Kyuzo could feel the person's warm breath come out in soft, reassuring puffs across his neck as he separated their lips but still remained as close as possible, relaxing his arm that hugged that lithe form to his own body in a strong, protective manner, as the blonde-haired man felt his very brain shut off, all his hurried thoughts come to a sudden but appreciated stop, as he genuinely took cloud-soft comfort in feeling his companion breathe contently against him and keep his hands holding affectionately onto his chest.

Kyuzo sighed out his air again, this time remarkably thoughtlessly, as he could already feel the other person's breathing start to even out by the measured, shallow rises and falls of his slender back that indicated that he had already fallen asleep; Kyuzo finding it easier than before to be able to follow suit…now that he had this certain someone in his arms and back into his immediate life once again.

Even though Kyuzo had not opened his eyes during the entire time it had taken the intruder to step into his hut, walk the length of the room until he had approached the resting samurai, and then proceed to join him in bed for some much-needed sleep, Kyuzo had known straight away that it was Katsushiro.

Besides the obvious fact that no one else in Kanna Village was crazy enough to go through with such a lethal feat of cozying up to him while he slept, the thing that had immediately given the information away to the always adept and highly-acute samurai…was the Okamoto's scent.

Just like in the forest, Kyuzo had been able to smell the added aromas emitted from the young man that had flooded the space and his senses, and when Kyuzo had reached his hand up to the Okamoto's head to slip his hair accessories out of his jade mane, his assessment had only been confirmed all the more.

However, it was Katsushiro's unique smell that had identified him right away, his familiar cotton and new leather and properly maintained hair as well as a hint of musk from their time in the forest…all of it having practically hollered his presence to the slumbering samurai…all of it making the ex-bodyguard realize how vital it was to him now to know that smell.

X

_Author's Note_: Obviously, I don't think that Katsu being a bit demanding with Kyuzo is too much of a stretch, as I'm sure we all picked up on the fact that, during the show, he could be a bit of a stubborn, controlling youngster, yeah? XD Yeah. Thoughts and opinions welcome and then…onwards to chapter three!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_**Third Person POV**_

Dazzling streams of new, morning sunlight flittered inside the tranquil hut in between the weaker spots of the wooden panels and the matted straw insulation which served to obscure the narrow trails of the peeking, radiant beams across the expanse of the facility and the two, sleeping forms that lie in each others' arms.

Having shifted positions only minimally during their shared night of rest, the blonde-haired samurai now lie flat on his back with one of his arms wrapped around the shoulders of the green-haired youth who was nuzzled somewhat on top of his chest and stomach as he slept.

Kyuzo slowly slipped out of his slumbering state, immediately clearing his throat softly as he ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth, his fiery red eyes gradually blinking open and taking in his freshly illuminated surroundings as he breathed deeply the aroma of the sun-kissed lumber and fragrant dew in the atmosphere to further rouse himself awake.

The silent samurai's crimson gaze trailed downward, observing with a certain fluttering sensation coursing through his stomach, as Katsushiro had his face tucked securely under his own chin with one of his hands lightly resting on his opposite shoulder, exactly how the Okamoto would appear as if he had hastily ran up to the taller, older man and drew him into a powerful, loving embrace.

Long, emerald tresses were draped freely across Kyuzo's black-clad chest as the ex-bodyguard instantly recalled having taken out Katsushiro's hair accessories himself the previous night in order to make the latter more comfortable.

Now, as he looked at the lovely, angelic sight before him of Katsushiro sleeping on top of him with his elegant, silken hair splayed out in all directions, Kyuzo did not regret that he had done so at all.

Katsushiro looked perfect and peaceful as he was and Kyuzo admittedly felt a bit guilty as he brought his free hand up from his side to the Okamoto's porcelain, doll-esque face lying on his chest as he gently brushed some of his long, green locks from his face in order to considerately wake him up as well.

"Mmh…"Katsushiro voiced in his throat quietly, his eyes trying to open as he automatically started to lean into Kyuzo's cotton-soft touches to his temple and cheek as the older male continued to run his long, strong fingers across Katsushiro's lovely face that was so painstakingly close to his own.

The dual-sword master smirked softly as Katsushiro slowly opened his beautiful, tired eyes for him and immediately lifted his head up from Kyuzo's chest so he could see his beloved as well, Katsushiro's lengthy green mane running down his shoulders and touching the blonde man's body as he just barely hovered his slighter form over the older man..

"Good morning," Katsushiro whispered, still too uncollected from having just woken up to voice anything with any proper volume to the man lying below him with his hand still cradling his face, offering his tired head support so he may stay as he was above him.

"Morning," Kyuzo said just as quietly back to the Okamoto before him, his fingertips carefully swiping over Katsushiro's soft cheek until he placed his palm against the side of his jaw, enabling the blonde samurai an obscured view of the younger, charming man currently within his grasp.

The moment was bittersweet and as soft as a cloud as Katsushiro smiled dreamily down at Kyuzo's serene expression, cherishing the warmth of his body, the acceptance in his touches and their proximity, the fact that they had shared his bed last night, as he felt the master swordsman's gentle hold on his cheek start to usher him forward even more.

Kyuzo craned his head up the remaining few inches as he felt the green-haired youth easily welcome his tender kiss, both men's petal-soft lips meeting with warm affection as Katsushiro fluidly, naturally turned his head to the side a bit to deepen their kiss as he brought up both of his delicate hands to either side of the ex-bodyguard's face.

Katsushiro pulled his hands through Kyuzo's soft, thick mane, moving his asymmetrically-styled bangs completely out of his face as the Okamoto rested his chest fully on top of the older man's and simply enjoyed their intimacy, their connection.

Keeping his pale fingers buried in Kyuzo's hair, the fledgling samurai lingeringly pulled his tingling lips away from Kyuzo's perfectly-shaped and kissable mouth so he may look upon his deadly fallen angel without any hindrances whatsoever, desiring almost madly to see Kyuzo's full, handsome face and bright, scarlet eyes.

Katsushiro's breath hitched noticeably in his throat, causing Kyuzo to subtly lift one blonde eyebrow up at him questioningly, the dual-sword wielder still lightly stroking his fingers against the side of Katsushiro's cheek as he observed how the young man gawked at him.

"You amaze me, Kyuzo-dono…"Katsushiro cooed sweetly, his words like refreshing, falling rain as they dripped from the green-haired young man's lips with love and pure, awestruck admiration at the sight he was beholding, "…you're so beautiful, I can't bear to look away."

Kyuzo's expression smoothed out on his face, his striking red eyes having to lower for a second while his mind and heart absorbed the Okamoto's brain-warping words to him, words that seemed to make him forget what to do or how to react.

Lips as soft as the rarest silk met Kyuzo's mouth again, taking the older samurai by mild surprise for a moment before he quickly gave into the welcome, familiar sensations that calmed his mind, his mood, his world and kissed Katsushiro back with just as much delicate fervor as what was admitted unto him.

"Kyuzo-dono…"Katsushiro prompted in the tiny second both men had parted for air before smashing their lips together again, their passion growing with each increasingly intense kiss that befell their hurried touches and parted lips.

Kyuzo had both of his large hands holding onto the Okamoto's small but deceptively strong shoulders, secretly loving the way Katsushiro's fingers raked through his messy mane of light-colored hair, as he felt the latter make small movements in shifting his body weight so as to properly climb on top of the master swordsman.

"Hn?" Kyuzo merely provided against the other man's hot mouth, knowing full well that Katsushiro was straddling his hips but not having another thought about it pass through his delightfully hazed and occupied mind at the moment.

"Nnh..." Katsushiro moaned into Kyuzo's mouth, their warm, pink tongues meeting outside of their mouths before two sets of hungry lips closed around them and continued to swirl the two, highly-receptive muscles together in a forbidden, mind-melting dance that could sooth one's soul or ignite it to a set of miraculous flames.

Kyuzo felt a blissful mixture of both pleasurable sensations as he enjoyed having Katsushiro perched on top of his body and leaning down to further assault his mouth in whatever way he pleased – the older samurai's hands having automatically trailed down the green-haired man's arms until he could comfortably rest them on top of his hips by each of his sides.

Katsushiro separated their mouths, leaving Kyuzo panting softly below him with his eyes half-lidded and dazed as he peered up into the Okamoto's lustful face, long green tresses falling over his clothed shoulders and a little ways down his back as he sat straight up on top of Kyuzo's tightly-muscled lap.

"…make love to me, Kyuzo-dono…" Katsushiro pleaded breathlessly, his hands already moving to the buttons adorning his own form-fitting, white long-sleeved shirt in which he had slept.

Kyuzo's lips parted but no sound came out – he was instantly reduced to a mindless, dumbstruck state as he could only watch the young, lovely man in his lap start to undress himself…begging for his sex.

Kyuzo knew that the last time Katsushiro had begged him for something; he had been absolutely unable to refuse – the young man's stare and tempting lips forming those intoxicating words having proved to be too much for the stoic samurai to endure sanely.

"Wait…" Kyuzo managed to say quickly, carefully but efficiently sitting up from lying in his bed so he may be eye-level with the perplexing yet stunning young man currently sitting in his lap and looking at him with such severe want in his eyes that it halted any further words from escaping him right away.

Katsushiro's fitted, long-sleeved shirt fell carelessly to the hardwood floor beside them, instantly making Kyuzo's scorching red gaze scan over the creamy, slender chest and shoulders that were now exposed for him and only him, making the dual-sword expert easily forget what words of protest he had wanted to continue voicing as he felt his body shudder with unrestrained tremors that had his semi-aroused cock pulsing hotly under such sharp torture.

Katsushiro's over-sized clothes thoroughly betrayed how immaculately slender and lean the young samurai's pale, smooth body actually was and Kyuzo found himself effortlessly captivated by such untouched, unmarred perfection that were his long, slim arms and sinfully trim waist and collarbone that were blotted here and there with starkly-contrasting locks of dark-green hair that draped over his shoulders and touched his neck.

The Okamoto male was…exquisite as he sat shirtless and starry-eyed on top of Kyuzo's lap; the green-haired young man displaying far beyond normal beauty as his very image consisted of light and dark, temptation and opportunity, of preserved perfection that did not know the struggles of war and heated battles yet – a true diamond in the rough.

Katsushiro took advantage of Kyuzo's temporary unthinking moment as he shifted his weight a little on top of Kyuzo's legs in order to further situate himself and draw adamant attention before speaking again.

"Please, Kyuzo-dono…I want to feel you…"Katsushiro purred to the speechless man before him, purposefully stretching out his taut, flat stomach and sculpt chest as he straightened his spine and kept his narrowed gaze fierce but desperate on Kyuzo's face, "…I know you asked for time, but please give this to me…because then, even if you say 'no', I'll still have this one time…with you."

Kyuzo's mind and body were at war with one another, his thoughts in total disarray as he felt more fine-point tremors ripple through him on account of hearing Katsushiro's impossibly sultry and honeyed words to him - the silent, always collected samurai not accustomed to experiencing such moments of utter blankness in the least as he shamelessly took in those delicious, lean curves that perfectly shaped Katsushiro's trim sides that lead up to a well-muscled chest and frame for the set of his shoulders and forced himself to consider the face-value of the Okamoto's words before so much as batting an eye.

However, such tedious observations of Katsushuro's lithe body only served to render Kyuzo's body to feel increasingly warm as his mind already began racing with countless, endless thoughts about what all he wanted to do to that porcelain skin so close to him.

And Katsushiro's expression…the way he had said those pleading words so brazenly that begged the silent samurai of giving him this one time of pleasure if nothing else. The proposal made monumental sense in a very up-front way to the blonde swordsman…but just the way Katsushiro had looked at him when saying it all…like the green-haired man would be devastated should Kyuzo even try to deny him of his wishes.

Before Kyuzo could fully register what he was doing, he had already moved his hands up to take hold of either side of Katsushiro's lovely, rounded face; the Okamoto's pouting, wanton expression, especially after saying something like that to the blonde warrior, was killing Kyuzo in the best possible way, overwhelming his senses and claiming his mind to a point where Kyuzo almost considered that his body was no longer his own; as he brought them closer together without a single second-guess occurring to him.

"...mmn…make love to me…"Katsushiro whispered once more, just before Kyuzo crushed their luscious lips back together with demanding force, the ex-bodyguard having felt another body-racking jolt of high-voltage pleasure course through his body upon hearing the Okamoto beg him of something so provocative again, as he kept his hands holding securely onto the latter's slightly flushed face, able to feel his own fingers tangle in long, straight green tresses that felt like liquid silk against his rough hands.

Kyuzo's passionate kiss spoke his answer for him to the young man in his arms, who was already hurriedly running his hands down the front of Kyuzo's staggeringly chiseled chest and stomach until he located the bottom hem of the blonde swordsman's black, strapped garment that crossed over his torso and sides.

The ex-bodyguard's resolve having thoroughly been comprised upon initially hearing Katsushiro's erotic words to him, Kyuzo only felt his overall need to grant the Okamoto his wish now grow substantially within himself as he already found himself loving how Katsushiro hastily lifted his obscurely-fashioned clothing up from his stomach; the eagerness radiated off of the green-haired to have his beloved Kyuzo stripped for him serving to be extremely arousing and pleasing to the latter.

Furious, pleasure-seeking lips were pulled apart with a wet 'smack,' leaving both men quietly panting for more, as Kyuzo obediently lifted his strong arms up so Katsushiro could properly rid him of his black over-shirt that easily joined the Okamoto's garment on the floor before the younger man's hands were already sliding underneath Kyuzo's main, wide-necked, long-sleeved shirt.

Kyuzo purred low in his throat upon feeling Katsushiro's warm hands roam greedily over his hard-muscled and sporadically scarred abdomen and sides, the subtle pulls of tingling, writhing pleasure within the blonde samurai starting to mount into a trembling desire that made his growing erection pulse with even more red-hot fire, as startling jade eyes were positively glowing with pressing, unbelievable need as they took in how Kyuzo reacted to having his body so intricately explored as he was.

This time, Kyuzo latched his own fingers onto the bottom of his black, lightly-striped shirt and quickly hoisted the durable material up and off of his lean torso, the ex-bodyguard already feeling Katsushiro inch closer and closer to him on top of his lap as the Okamoto instantly scratched his blunt nails down the wide, resilient contours of Kyuzo's exposed back.

The blonde samurai hissed briefly in between his teeth and parted lips from the unexpected, sizzling pain being administered to his body but was hurriedly cut off as Katsushiro quickly crushed their opened mouths back together as he suggestively ground his ass against Kyuzo's groin, mercilessly swallowing the gasp that escaped the older man once he did so.

The green-haired young man groaned deep inside his chest upon feeling Kyuzo's rigid, trapped cock dig against the delicate curves of his ass, pleasing Katsushiro to no end in that his beautiful, tall samurai was achingly hard for solely him as he continued to trail needy, searching hands over the smooth, solid contours of his beloved's powerful frame that was so graciously welcoming his advances at last.

Kyuzo brought his large, calloused hands to Katsushiro's smooth, perfect back and ran his fingers down the slender curves and lines of muscle there that created a tantalizing hourglass shape, relishing in the fact that he, in turn, was able to make the green-haired young man shiver against him as the Okamoto licked at his lips before suckling lustfully on his tongue and practically begging for something of which he could not name straight away – both men positively losing touch with reality in favor of painstakingly treasuring the other's growing lust, hot touches, and brain-melting kisses that only amplified everything else all the more to be indulged in.

"K-Kyuzo…dono…"Katsushiro purred appreciatively as his hands squeezed at the much more solid and rugged planes of muscle that adorned Kyuzo's strong back, the young samurai's mind vastly and surely getting swept away into a sweet, blinding oblivion that positively purged him from knowing anything else in this world besides Kyuzo's hands running hotly down his back, Kyuzo's precious lips pressing into his own…only Kyuzo.

Nothing else mattered.

Abruptly showing a burst of strength that neither man knew the green-haired youth had had in him, Katsushiro suddenly pushed Kyuzo down to lie completely flat in his bed, the Okamoto hovering closely above him as he now looked down upon the man of his dreams and the way a little air had escaped his kiss-swollen lips upon hitting the floor that hard.

"Watch," Katsushiro ordered the master swordsman with just the raspy gruff in his voice, his glazed, half-lidded eyes peering unwaveringly into Kyuzo's entrancing red orbs as he had said his single word before getting to his feet and standing up from his spot on top of the speechless blonde.

Kyuzo unquestioningly stayed where he was on his back as he watched Katsushiro stand up and take a knowing step backward so it could be certain that the blonde swordsman could see all of him before doing anything further.

Lengthy, green tresses were flung out of the way before deft hands moved slowly down his own lean body, tracing over the fine curves that brought in his ribcage and waist, before settling down on the top hem of his yellow and white-bottomed pants, lips as pink and as soft as freshly fallen sakura blossoms parted and alluring the entire time.

Kyuzo gulped before automatically bringing his bottom lip in between his teeth, as if it somehow brought him physical pain to watch something so sinfully sexy as Katsushiro touch and strip himself of the rest of his clothing, as the blonde kept his scarlet eyes glued to the scene in front of him while only moving his weight up onto his bent elbows behind him.

Narrow, ideal hips moved sensuously from side to side as Katsushiro took his sweet time inching his baggy pants down, slowly revealing more and more of his pallid, slender frame to the ever-observant and keen stare of the dual-sword wielder lying shirtless and awestruck before him, not taking for granted whatsoever the sheer magnitude of the breath-taking sensuality Katsushiro could indeed exemplify as he watched long, taut lines of sinew gracefully move this way and that as the Okamoto performed his task.

Kyuzo could practically feel his blood heating up inside his veins as it rushed throughout his body, providing him with even more blazing, scalding fire underneath his skin that craved so dearly for Katsushiro to be back on top of him, kissing him with passionate lips while moving those warm, loving hands across his flesh and bringing him infinite amounts of pleasure again.

Anything to feel that body once more…

Finally, Katsushiro's had wiggled completely free of his large pants and immediately took to giving his own hardened cock a few, lazy strokes with his hand, the Okamoto's lips parting even more as a gasp escaped him and a throaty groan escaped the miraculously patient blonde watching such a forbidden sight before him.

Kyuzo unknowingly chewed harder on his captured, sensitive lip as he eyed relentlessly how Katsushiro's delicate hand moved up and down his own erection, drawing just a tiny amount of clear fluid to pool at the enflamed tip, as his whole, deliciously pale and slim figure seemed to trembled from the small amounts of fleeting pleasure.

Katsushiro licked his lips suggestively before carefully dropping to his knees in between Kyuzo's parted, black-clothed legs, the green-haired young man feeling electric and frivolous with excitement as he took in how utterly tortured and helpless Kyuzo looked with his lip in between his teeth and his gorgeous eyes practically begging for attention like that.

"Do you like it when I strip in front of you…?" Katsushiro purred seductively as he crawled his way up Kyuzo's long, tightly-muscled form to where he could easily slip his fingers underneath the hem of the blonde's form-fitting black pants.

"Yes," Kyuzo replied honestly, finding it useless to deny anything at this point as he watched silken green tresses pool across the sharp ridges of his stomach as Katsushiro lowered his chin down to rest against his exposed flesh while his hands pulled down Kyuzo's pants .

"…and do you like it…when I suck your cock…Kyuzo-dono?" the Okamoto breathed across Kyuzo's heated flesh, purposefully letting his erotic words ghost over Kyuzo's straining erection that he had finally released from its confines by only pulling down the blonde man's tight, inky pants just enough.

Kyuzo shivered from Katsushiro's words that practically made love him all on their own as he watched with hopelessly captured eyes as Katsushiro ran his full, luscious lips over the smooth, pink head of his begging member, as if to patiently await Kyuzo's answer while simultaneously rendering him incapable of providing one.

"Mmh…yes…"Kyuzo admitted with shaky words, being instantly rewarded with Katsushiro flicking his tongue out and lapping briefly at the warm, clear liquid that had collected at his slit.

"Then tell me to…whatever you want me to do, I'll do it…" Katsushiro said as he continued to make teasing, mind-numbing caresses to the tip of Kyuzo's cock with his velvety-soft tongue, green eyes intricately watching Kyuzo come to his wits' end right in front of him from all of his playful words and teasing gestures that were surely pulling apart the tightly-knit seams of Kyuzo's sanity.

"Suck me, Katsushiro…right now," Kyuzo ordered breathlessly, his mind far too haggard and forfeited to think twice about saying such a lewd statement as the only thing currently occupying the disciplined samurai and highly-skilled fighter's mind…was how badly he wanted to bring both himself and Katsushiro unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction before their time was done.

Perfectly-shaped lips smirked at Kyuzo's handsome face and delightful expression before quickly parting and wrapping around the wide head of Kyuzo's dripping member, instantly obliging the blonde, angelic-looking samurai as Katsushiro began roughly sucking at the sensitive tip to coax more warm pre-come to splash against his tongue.

"Ohh…Katsu…shiro…what are you doing to me…"Kyuzo murmured, more to himself than to the lovely young man draped across his legs and slipping more and more of Kyuzo's thick, pulsating member into his mouth and down his throat, properly wetting the soft, solid flesh with his own saliva to make his movements more fluid and effortless.

Kyuzo hummed low in his throat from the blunt, firm pleasure being administered to his overheated body as Katsushiro continued to swirl his tongue around every inch that was pushed further into his mouth, as the blonde warrior brought up a hand to the Okamoto's brow and carefully brushed his dark bangs out of his face with his fingertips.

Kyuzo had intended to repeat the affectionate gesture but was cut off early in his actions as he craned his neck back and a soft growl escaped his lips upon feeling Katsushiro immediately begin to move his head up and down his engorged, moistened length, his pace steady and resilient on top of Kyuzo's lap which quickly had the older man panting with ecstasy to the ceiling.

Lips as tempting and intoxicating as any fine liquor squeezed around Kyuzo's solid flesh as Katsushiro bobbed his head up and down on top of the ex-bodyguard's lap, thoroughly enjoying how Kyuzo purred wantonly and sharply sucked in air because of his hasty, bold actions that fueled both men's eagerness to finally see the other in their true throes of untamable passion and reverie for the other.

Playfully, forever loving how many different ways he could make Kyuzo react sensually and practically melt for him as he was, Katsushiro halted his movements with Kyuzo's whole, throbbing member still deep in his throat, purposefully letting Kyuzo's mind go vastly mad by being surrounded by the warm, soft texture of his mouth without any momentum or friction ensuing to further coax his pleasure.

Kyuzo had immediately gasped upon feeling the secretly cunning Okamoto stop his movements of bringing his lips up and down his length, Katsushiro only running his tongue around whatever flesh he could as he sucked harshly at the base of the blonde samurai's cock.

The ex-bodyguard shivered uncontrollably as he observed for a moment more how painfully erotic Katsushiro looked with his nose buried in Kyuzo's soft, light-blonde pubic hair while he kept Kyuzo's length down his throat while he worked his tongue around the sensitive underside, before the blonde samurai thoughtfully brought both of his hands up to either side of Katsushiro's face.

With slow, careful movements, Kyuzo kept his hands gentle on Katsushiro's cheeks as he lifted the youth's head up from his lap, wholly loving how he was able to see every, thick inch of his cock slip from the green-haired male's lips as he did so.

Katsushiro's eyes were half-lidded and his cheeks were a light shade of pink underneath Kyuzo's strong, large hands, and Kyuzo was completely and utterly broken as he saw such adamant, undying desire within the beautiful young man's every, burning fiber.

With maneuvers as fast and as powerful that only a true samurai would be capable of exhibiting, Kyuzo suddenly switched their positions so that he may be on top of the gorgeous, lustful young man in his arms who was looking at him with such emotion that it internally shattered him.

Kyuzo had kept his hands on Katsushiro's pleasantly flushed face and did not hesitate in the least as he quickly brought his lips down upon the Okamoto's, his tongue urgently plunging into Katsushiro's warm cavern and easily dominating the younger man's mouth with hot, needy kisses that singed across each man's flesh as Kyuzo pressed the long length of his body against Katsushiro's bared, pale form.

Delicate hands shot up from the ground to squeeze hard at broadly muscled shoulders as Katsushiro groaned into their kiss, pressing his body up against Kyuzo's wider, stronger frame as he unconsciously sought out to feel even more of the elusive, silent samurai above him, whatever he was willing to give.

"You are…too good at that, Katsushiro," Kyuzo commented shockingly light-heartedly about Katsushiro's oral sex as the blonde samurai offered a small smirk before claiming that begging, parted mouth once again and trailing his hands down Katsushiro's trembling body.

"Nnh…only because it's you…"Katsushiro purred somewhat thoughtlessly as he arched his lithe body up into Kyuzo's hovering chest, loving how those large, rough hands of his felt caressing his skin as his pleasurable tremors increased as a result.

Kyuzo watched with intense interest how Katsushiro writhed and whimpered for him as he moved his hands down that long, graceful neck, trailed over his collarbone and shoulders, before running flat and hard down his chest and stomach.

Katsushiro released his hold on Kyuzo's shoulders in favor of bringing his hands up above his head, purposefully stretching out his slender, lovely body in order to receive more caresses from the man he loved, as he tossed his head to a side and breathed out another moan; the Okamoto knowing quickly and infinitely that he absolutely loved to be underneath Kyuzo and subject to any and all of his ministrations.

Kyuzo was fascinated by how sensuously the young man reacted to his touches, how the fledgling samurai would purr if he touched his neck and how he would moan and writhe when he ran his fingers over his flat, taut abdomen, and felt his own, sopping wet erection throb with even more pressing need to finally experience ultimate relief as a heavy, burdening result.

Freeing his tingling hands from the Okamoto's slender body, Kyuzo brought a few of his fingers to Katsushiro's parted lips, their entranced, dreamy eyes boring straight into each others' the entire time which only added to the intensity, the raw fire of the growing moment between them and the act that they were about to set into motion and knowingly dive into a whole, new way of life with one another.

"Suck," Kyuzo breathed erotically to the green-haired man lying warm and willing beneath his own body, already being rewarded as he saw Katsushiro open his mouth a little more and slowly bring out his tongue to lick at Kyuzo's extended digits, luring them into his cavern as he closed his lips around them sensuously.

Kyuzo could not help but groan out loud as he felt Katsushiro swirl his moist, hot tongue around his fingers, purposefully coating them in generous amounts of saliva as he kept them deep inside his mouth, just as the Okamoto had done with Kyuzo's cock only a few moments ago which had about put Kyuzo out of his right mind.

The stoic ex-bodyguard truly felt like he was about to burst into a thousand pieces should Katsushiro keep tonguing his fingers the way that he was, so he quickly retracted them from that sinfully torturous mouth and sank his battle-hardened body down the pallid, porcelain perfection that lay sprawled out before him.

Katsushiro's breathed audibly hitched in his throat as he watched with mesmerized, unbelieving eyes as Kyuzo cast his lovely, startling red gaze back up to him for just a moment before parting his full, perfectly-shaped lips and slowly dragging his tongue up the tender but swollen head of Katsushiro's member.

Katsushiro groaned in a long, drawn-out sound of pure, astounded personal pleasure as he watched Kyuzo close his eyes and methodically close his lips around the dripping head of pulsating member before lowering his blonde, spiky head to obligingly swallow the whole length in one, fluid motion.

"Ah…K-Kyuzo-dono…!" Katsushiro gasped for air as his trim frame writhed softly below Kyuzo's ministrations, the blonde man purposefully taking to moving his mouth up and down Katsushiro's length straight away because he knew that he would need for the Okamoto to be completely relaxed for what was to come later.

Kyuzo hummed low in his throat in approval of Katsushiro calling out his name as he was, his thick, blonde bangs subtly moving across his handsome face as he bobbed his head progressively faster upon the green-haired male's member, just waiting for the moment when he would be able to feel Katsushiro lose all touch with reality and become his.

Suddenly, Katsushiro arched his back as his legs parted a bit more in a graceful, beautiful display as his sculpt chest heaved with sharp pants of air as Katsushiro's gasps and groans seemed to topple over one another as Kyuzo carefully nudged one of his moistened fingers against the Okamoto's exposed entrance while still maintaining his hurried pace of swallowing the young samurai's length over and over again.

"Ohh…ah…!" Katsushiro voiced shakily as he felt one of Kyuzo's long, deadly fingers push passed his tight ring of muscles and enter into his body, only serving to discomfort the Okamoto a little bit as he focused on that hot, talented mouth that was massaging his begging member in all the right places to properly coax a speedy, heavy orgasm from him.

Kyuzo made another quiet noise in his throat as he began slowly moving his intruding finger in and out of his green-haired lover's soft, warm entrance, loving the way Katsushiro's textured insides felt against his skin as the Okamoto, in turn, whimpered in an unsteady voice from such intricate praise of his body, inside and out.

"Kyuzo…mmn…v-very close…"Katsushiro managed to warn the silent, dual-sword wielder as his body was already threatening to curl around the red-hot pleasure being administered to his body as he felt Kyuzo respond to his words by pulling out his finger from his entrance but only to add another that he roughly shoved back inside the trembling, lust-driven young man beneath him.

The added jolt of pain from now having two long, rough fingers moving inside his body, stretching his entrance and positively playing with his insides, had Katsushiro seeing brilliant blurs of vivid color behind his eyes as he arched his back again and felt his cock spurt stream after stream of warm, silky essence that quickly filled Kyuzo's mouth with each, drastic pull of extreme, mind-warping pleasure that tore through his systems.

Katsushiro quivered, his pillow-soft, elated feelings brought on by the unbelievable pleasure he had experienced still present within his body as he dreamily eyed Kyuzo as the blonde samurai released his moist, mildly-softening cock from in between his lips so he may sit back on his haunches and observe his gorgeous, relaxed lover that appeared to be in a splendid mindless reverie.

Kyuzo's rock hard member dripped more smooth, clear precome as he remained on his knees in between Katsushiro's parted, bent legs, the dual-sword wielder briefly scissoring his fingers inside the Okamoto's entrance, before pulling them both completely out of that soft, textured heat and looking him squarely in his sated, lovely face, watching as he panted softly and gazed back up at him with immeasurable affection and something else the older man could not place right away.

"Are you sure, Katsushiro?" Kyuzo offered to the young man lying sprawled out and exposed beneath him, feeling it necessary and ultimately fair to provide the Okamoto this type of final, last-minute opportunity to rethink his motives and possibly end everything before he realized that it was never what he really wanted…that Kyuzo was not what he really wanted.

Much to Kyuzo's surprise and utter delight, however, Katsushiro seductively lifted his legs up high enough to loop them around Kyuzo's carved-out-of-stone biceps as he scooted a little closer to Kyuzo's patient, guardian-esque form before him, prior to replying back to his question with his full, honest words.

"Yes…please, Kyuzo-dono…don't stop…don't stop touching me," Katsushiro begged breathlessly of the solemn, blonde swordsman as he reached his hands up and slid them up the smooth, sturdy cords of well-honed muscle of Kyuzo's arms until he could wrap his fingers around his forearms and squeeze the firm flesh there as if to add emphasis to his powerful words – the gesture bordering on comforting to the ex-bodyguard as it also served to let Kyuzo know that Katsushiro wanted him even closer.

Completely humbled and more than over his limit in terms of patience in the face of that which is most alluring, the ex-bodyguard bent his torso slightly over Katsushiro's inviting, attractive form as he easily slipped a hand underneath the Okamoto's slender back, his other hand grasping his own length at its throbbing base.

Katsushiro's legs were consequently spread even wider around Kyuzo's upper arms as the blonde-haired samurai leaned over him and positioned the wide, moistened tip of the head of his cock at Katsushiro's entrance, the Okamoto taking a moment to lick his dry lips in dire anticipation as he noticed how painstakingly and even lovingly careful Kyuzo was being with him.

"…take a deep breath for me," Kyuzo suddenly whispered down to his lover, brilliant scarlet eyes watching as Katsushiro instantly obeyed and filled his lungs with a great deal of air that he held onto as per Kyuzo's soft request of him.

With careful, timed movements, Kyuzo began pushing the thick head of his cock into the prepared young man below him, knowing that this moment would be Katsushiro's most difficult to bear with so the blonde samurai immediately halted his movements as he watched the Okamoto abruptly release the trapped air from his lungs as a short cry tore itself from his throat.

Leanly-muscles legs squeezed Kyuzo's shoulders as the Okamoto fought to relax around such a wide breach of his body, his initially labored breathing starting to regain normalcy as his hands clutched onto Kyuzo's supportive arms by each of his sides.

"Are you alright?" Kyuzo asked the beautiful green-haired young man clinging to him so diligently that it positively melted the older man's heart and soul as he stared so closely at absolute love and devotion towards him and him alone in Katsushiro.

"…y-yes…keep going," the Okamoto breathed to the handsome, blonde man above him who was watching his every expression as if his very life depended upon it.

Obligingly, Kyuzo began easing more and more of his solid, throbbing flesh into Katsushiro's entrance, knowing that the latter had, in fact, substantially relaxed his every muscle around him as he felt Katsushiro's hold on his arms lighten to where the Okamoto was stroking his taut, strong flesh as he moaned and gasped his pleasure upon being filled so methodically as he was.

Kyuzo's air was becoming scarce and haggard to him as he completely sheathed his sensitive cock inside that wonderful, hot texture of Katsushiro's insides that automatically seemed to be sucking him in even more into that supple, willing body, the dual-sword master briefly trembling as he relished in how impossibly soft yet tight Katsushiro's ass seemed to cradle his engorged member and bring him effortless pleasure that would have any sane man questioning his role in the world.

"Ohh…K-Kyuzo…mmn…so deep," Katsushiro cooed amorously as he felt his sharp snags of pain gradually dull to exciting edges that shaped his pleasure into something raw and unbridled, pure and unmistakable; loving how the man he adored was finally one with his body and trembling from the immense sensations that it, in turn, brought him.

"Mmh…"Kyuzo groaned, his brow furrowing a bit in concentration as he retracted his heavy cock from the intoxicating warmth of Katsushiro's body, finding that the Okamoto's every, sex-laced word to him also brought him tiny shivers of ecstasy to couple with his physical pleasure, and quickly shoved his whole length back inside that tight, gripping entrance and instantly making the green-haired man arch his body.

"God, yes…just like that…please, Kyuzo-dono…"Katsushiro moaned wantonly as he freed his hands from Kyuzo's arms so he may grip at the crumpled bed sheets that surround them, an erotic display of the Okamoto trying desperately to find a way to handle feeling so much stimulation and pleasure riddling through his slender frame and setting his every fiber alight with sharp, burning satisfaction that only seemed to multiply the more time he spent with the loner swordsman.

Kyuzo was beside himself from Katsushiro's shameless, erotic pants and pleads with him of his sex as he immediately took to granting the younger man's demands and began slamming his cock into Katsushiro's addictive heat, his one hand still holding onto the small of Katsushiro's lower back enabling him to manipulate the Okamoto's ass in whatever way he so desired, as he made the latter's hips meet his harsh but measured thrusts that tore addictive shouts from his throat and made his body tighten around him every time.

Immediately, the simple, quaint hut was filled with savory, crescendo-ed moans that ended in gasps and hefty pants for air, as the Okamoto was filled over and over again in the most spectacular of ways as Kyuzo's harsh, demanding pace of thrusting his cock into his entrance and making him feel his insides be frantically stretched and massaged in an almost desperate manner, satisfied his every crazed and overwhelming desire to know exactly what Kyuzo was willing to do with him.

Kyuzo's large hand burned against his slick skin at his lower back as the dual-sword wielder tugged Katsushiro's lithe form towards his own with every thrust, unknowingly pleasing the Okamoto entirely as Katsushiro could feel the intensity behind his movements, the pure bouts of lust that he had successfully tapped into and had consume the stoic samurai as the very view of Kyuzo's stronger, taller form making love to him in between his legs that he had wrapped around his wide back was like a miracle to the young samurai.

Katsushiro pulled relentlessly at the thin sheets beneath his body, his unabashed and sensual moans beginning to blend together until the Okamoto was hoarsely voicing his pleasure to the wooden and straw ceiling far above their heads, before quickly throwing his arms around Kyuzo's wide, glistening shoulders, the gesture immediately bringing their glossy, grinding bodies closer together that had both men fleetingly considering the idea that they were truly being connected at the seams as they continued to make hurried, blissfully rushed love to one another.

Kyuzo grunted his pleasure softly as he watched how Katsushiro welcomed his every, sharp snap forward of his hips that drove his pulsating cock deep into the Okamoto's ass as the latter writhed sensually in his embrace, fervently calling out strangled, airy versions of his name as his long, dark-green hair flowed and circled around his head from the constant movement of their joined bodies – the sight of such flawless beauty in absolute ecstasy in his arms was vastly overpowering the ex-bodyguard's compromised mind and senses.

It had been one thing for the silent samurai to see Katsushiro taunt his sex in playful, cajoling manner, and it was certainly another thing entirely for the ex-bodyguard to finally see the young Okamoto completely losing himself to the powerful passion taking place between them now.

It was impossibly beautiful to the love-struck dual-sword wielder as he could not help but gaze down lovingly with half-lidded crimson orbs at the many, varying expressions that crossed over Katsushiro's porcelain face as he willingly gave himself whole-heartedly to Kyuzo's every demand, spoken or unspoken.

Suddenly, blunt nails scratched down Kyuzo's wide, scarred back, making the older samurai groan in deep-felt approval, as he involuntarily tightened his hold on Katsushiro's nicely-curved back and thrust inside almost violently so, immediately making the young man in his arms scream with mind-splitting ecstasy as he tipped his head back and dug his nails hard into Kyuzo's flesh to prolong such a strong reaction to his ministrations.

"Ahh…talk to me, Kyuzo-dono…please…tell me what you feel…ohh…ah…!" Katsushiro managed to say intelligibly in between his multiple, breathless moans to the older man above him, his hands having successfully traveled down the expanse of Kyuzo's moist, smooth back as he squeezed longingly hard at each of Kyuzo's clothed thighs beside him, "…I love it when you speak to me…"

Kyuzo could feel his orgasm rapidly approaching as Katsushiro's sensual words were sending him the perfect amount of white-hot pleasure to create a staggering edge to all of his accumulated pleasure that was currently pooling low in his groin and begging for sweet release, making his whole body feel amazingly overheated and anxious as he teetered closer and closer to his own, personal end with each, gratifying thrust inside his perfect, beautiful lover.

With swift, determined movements, Kyuzo quickly freed both of his hands and wrapped them around Katsushiro's back, instantly pulling the green-haired young man up from the floor and onto his lap, needing to adjust their positions a bit before giving his answer and experiencing ultimate relief…needing for Katsushiro to be as close to him as he could possibly get so he could see up close those enthralling emotion within those deep, jade eyes.

As if the action had already been mentally agreed upon between the two samurai, Katsushiro freed his right hand while Kyuzo simultaneously freed his left; the two hurriedly interlacing their fingers as they squeezed the other's hand lovingly at both of their sides – Katsushiro also momentarily using his firm grip on Kyuzo's hand as leverage as he encircled his legs around Kyuzo's waist and practically adhered their two bodies together.

With Katsushiro perched on top of his groin as he was, Kyuzo's cock stayed deep within the Okamoto's immaculately grinding body as he kept his one arm wrapped securely around the young samurai's back to support his weight as he took to scooping his hips up to further impale his swollen cock inside Katsushiro's ass; the Okamoto lustfully grinding his hips back down in short, fast movements to add more candy-sweet force behind their lovemaking as the two continued to hold the other's hand out to the side.

"…feels so damn good, Katsushiro…"Kyuzo finally replied to the bouncing, moaning young man in his arms and groping at his back as he tried over and over again to arch his body backwards in response to such overwhelming, smoldering pleasure that was blurring his vision as he felt his own untouched cock throb against Kyuzo's stomach as he continued to grind his hips on top of Kyuzo's warm lap and squeeze his fingers with his own.

"Ohh, Kyuzo…Kyuzo….K-Kyuzo…I'm coming…!" Katsushiro whined deliciously as he squeezed his eyes shut tight and hugged his legs even tighter around Kyuzo's waist as he tipped his head back and sprayed his hot, pearly essence in between their grinding, moving bodies that painted both men's chests and stomachs in jagged arcs of the milky substance in an almost artistic manner.

Katsushiro was trembling drastically against Kyuzo's body, his lips kept parted as he breathed out shakily and felt his every muscle gradually go lax as he relished in his absolute euphoria while still letting Kyuzo pound his cock up into his convulsing ass that automatically clenched around the intruding member in an attempt to feel the blonde samurai as much as he could while still feeling the many, sporadic pulls of pleasure riddle through him.

The Okamoto, despite his increasing hazy and out-of-touch sensations weighing down on him, could not tear his half-lidded eyes away from Kyuzo's face and form as the handsome ex-bodyguard slipped his beautiful eyes shut, slid his free hand down from Katsushiro's ass to one of his thighs, and breathed one word before following him in climax.

"Katsushiro…"Kyuzo whispered tenderly as he finally gave into the edge-crumbling sensations that Katsushiro's quivering insides bestowed upon him as he came long and hard inside of the young samurai's ideal body as his gripping fingers massaged Katsushiro's palm inside his hand, the blonde man shivering every time he delivered another weakening thrust inside Katsushiro's moist, coated insides that seemed to milk him for everything he was worth as he reached his unimaginable high at last.

Kyuzo kept his eyes closed, his breathing trying to level out as his hold on Katsushiro's hand at his side quickly lightened to a simple, lingering touch, while the veteran samurai just sat still for a while and completely indulged in his hard-earned feelings of weightlessness and satisfaction, his every muscle, thought, and problem totally sated within his strategic mind as he had not even noticed that Katsushiro had been watching him with soft, lovely eyes the entire time.

"That was…amazing, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro said quietly to the dual-sword wielder before him who looked as if he could fall into a deep slumber this very moment, sitting up and with the Okamoto still on his lap, "…I really do love you."

At this, Kyuzo opened his eyes, the bold words prompting him to form a reply, anything at all, but his gaze was instantly met with Katsushiro softly shaking his head from side to side as he politely freed his hand from Kyuzo's so he could place both of his hands flat against the blonde man's chest in a meaningful, comforting gesture.

"You don't need to say anything, Great Kyuzo…I just…wanted to say that aloud to you again," Katsushiro admitted with a bit of difficulty as he watched the trails his own fingers made as they grazed down the solid, hard planes of Kyuzo's bared chest before him.

Kyuzo sighed quietly, thoughtfully, his gaze ghosting off to a side for a second while he collected his thoughts and came up with something resolute yet not unreasonable to say to the young man sitting on top of him and affectionately stroking his chest.

"You should get some more rest while it's still early, Katsushiro," Kyuzo informed the fledgling samurai logically but not harshly as he kept his naturally half-lidded eyes on the Okamoto's expression, seeing that the latter did, in fact, look quite worn out and in need of more sleep before heading out and starting the day.

Katsushiro smiled before lifting his head up to meet Kyuzo surprisingly gentle gaze awaiting him, his hands sliding up from the ex-bodyguard's chest to around his neck as the Okamoto simply gave his lover a genuine hug, charmed at Kyuzo's caring words even though his own had threatened to make him greatly uncomfortable.

Kyuzo breathed easier as Katsushiro held him tightly and buried his face into the side of Kyuzo's neck to tenderly nuzzle the sensitive flesh there, before the veteran samurai lightly braced his hands on Katsushiro's back and began easing him backwards towards his own bed.

Swiftly, Kyuzo kept own arm cradling the young man against his chest as he freed his other to remove one of the thin sheets that lay crumpled across his mat, before carefully laying down the beautiful, green-haired samurai so that his head rested properly on his pillow.

Katsushiro smiled dreamily up at Kyuzo as he situated his own body in Kyuzo's bed and watched with weary but intrigued eyes as Kyuzo first used the off-white sheet to diligently wipe off his own glistening, coated chest and stomach before folding the material once and placing it on top of the Okamoto's sprawled out form.

Katsushiro lazily hummed in his throat, his eyes already closing in cloud-soft pleasure and tranquility as he felt Kyuzo run the folds of the soft sheet across his own stomach with gentle, intricate touches that made the Okamoto feel as if he could have melted right there against the floorboards while his lover cleaned him.

The large sheet was folded a few more times before Kyuzo cautiously began to clean the insides of Katsushiro's come-splattered thighs, running the material over the curved lines of his own milky essence that had seeped out of the younger man and tried to run down his legs, making the ex-bodyguard involuntarily swallow down at trifling lump that had somehow formed in his throat.

"…_make love to me, Kyuzo-dono…"_

"_You amaze me…you're so beautiful, I can't bear to look away."_

"…_only because it's you…"_

As Kyuzo finished his task of wiping clean the young man lying peacefully in his bed with his eyes closed and small chest rising and falling with every, calming breath he took, Kyuzo set aside the sullied sheet without ever taking his eyes off the lovely view in front of him as he mindlessly spoke his thoughts aloud for possibly the very first time.

"I cannot believe some of the things you say to me, Katsushiro…sometimes they…"Kyuzo began reflectively, nodding to himself as he had already considered the most appropriate words with which to finish his thought down to the sleeping, young samurai, "…scare me…but I'd be a fool to just turn them…and you…away."

Another sigh left the loner warrior before he pulled another, separate blanket across Katsushiro's immobile form, and then silently got to his feet.

Previously discarded clothes were located and efficiently put back on, the blonde samurai dressing with his back Katsushiro as he trusted his senses to alert him should the young man stir even a little, as he slipped on his wide-necked, black shirt, followed by his stretchy, strapped garment, and then his boots.

Kyuzo waited until he had had his long, infamous red coat draped across his shoulders and fastened securely across his chest before finally turning towards his green-haired lover who had not moved an inch during the time Kyuzo had dressed.

Kyuzo thoughtfully gathered Katsushiro's over-sized pants, white, long-sleeved shirt, and black, waist-length jacket as well, folded them all accordingly, and respectfully placed them by Katsushiro's covered side to find once he woke up; enjoying the silence as he worked and maneuvered around the adequately-sized space which already was calming his nerves and offering him his typical peace of mind.

Kyuzo hovered over Katsushiro's slumbering form once he had placed the young man's clothes by his side, however, observing with almost pain in his heart how there were a few, green strands of hair strung across the Okamoto's rounded, porcelain face, casting a great contrast of color against such pale, creamy skin, and Kyuzo carefully brought a hand up to Katsushiro's brow.

"Sleep well…Katsushiro," Kyuzo whispered as he gently moved the offending locks out of hair out of his lover's face so that they mixed in with the long locks of deep green that pooled around his head and splayed across his pillow in a beautiful display of light against dark.

Finding that he needed to exert a bit more effort than usual, Kyuzo pulled himself away from the sleeping Okamoto as he hastily turned his back to him and walked briskly out of his hut and into the bright, welcoming morning, satisfied that Katsushiro had easily taken his advice to seek some more rest so he may leave the facility first and, specifically, to have some personal time to clear his head about what had happened between them…and what it all was making him feel.

Unbeknownst to the currently occupied ex-bodyguard, brilliant, jade eyes shot open as soon as Katsushiro had heard the straw door to the hut shuffle back in place once Kyuzo had exited the hut – the Okamoto having heard every single word that the blonde samurai had spoken to him as well as felt every loving ministration he had performed as well.

Meanwhile, Kyuzo had immediately directed his stride towards a small ridge located a little ways up the largest mountain above the huts and structures, the area serving as a type of plateau that jutted out from the rest of the forest and looked out over the entire west end of the village, his steps hurried in order to approach such a elevated and serene spot where one could truly cleanse their mind of any troubling thoughts and gain some perspective that one would otherwise would not have been able to obtain.

The warm sunlight kissed Kyuzo's skin and warmed his cheeks, already making the silent samurai feel more collected and sane as he was immersed in so much bright beauty that his mood was easily consoled and his initial, troubling considerations concerning Katsushiro…disappear, already a resolved matter inside his mind even though there were no words to describe it yet.

The trek up to the aforementioned spot within the heavily-treed area had not been a troublesome one, for old pathways had already been carved into the scenery, making Kyuzo's walk effortless and quite relaxing to partake in as he finally approached his desired destination, able to see exactly where he wanted to sit and watch the sky.

Just as the red-clad warrior approached the few, large boulders that stuck out from the rocky ground on the quaint ridge, Kyuzo immediately sensed another presence…a presence that was not threatening, but one that had definitely followed him up to this spot.

It was not Katsushiro; that much was certain; and this knowledge only served to confuse Kyuzo more and he tried to know without knowing who was inching closer to him.

"It's just me, Kyuzo-dono…no need to worry," sounded the amused, familiar voice of Shichiroji as he appeared from the nearby trees and approached the red-clad samurai with a smirk on his face.

"Hn," Kyuzo regarded with a simple noise in his throat as he watched Shichiroji walk from the forest area to the same, stone ridge that he was standing on as the spear-wielder's body language showed that he obviously had more to say to the ex-bodyguard.

"You know…I tried to find you earlier to give you another dose of Lady Kirara's medicine, but…when I did find you…"Shichiroji began in an almost taunting, playful voice as the leisurely samurai continued to walk steadily towards an evidently shocked Kyuzo," …you…seemed to have your hands full."

Kyuzo knew his mouth was hanging open, but he just could not react to what he was hearing – Shichiroji greatly capitalizing on the fact that Kyuzo was temporarily in shock and motionless as he stopped right in front of the ex-bodyguard and lifted a hand up to his stunned, pale face.

"I was actually relieved to find out that you're not the ice statue we all thought you were..."Shichiroji purred teasingly as he cast his striking sapphire eyes right into smoldering scarlet as Kyuzo appeared to be coming back to his senses and noticing that the spear-wielder's mechanical hand was on the side of his face.

"So, I guess now my only question…"Shichiroji continued, letting his soft baritone seep into Kyuzo's compromised senses as he trailed his cool, metal fingers down the dual-sword wielder's sharp jaw and to his chin which he grasped lightly, "…is if you'll warm up to me instead…?"

Again, pure, mind-numbing shock coursed its way through Kyuzo's rigid body, making him feel stapled down to the earth and his thoughts in complete, uncomprehending disarray as he parted his lips further to finally say some kind of reply to the slightly older man before him, anything towards the negative and otherwise of the situation.

"I must admit…I can see why Kanbei-sama desires you so," the blue-eyed man purred quietly to his prey as he leaned in closer and let his lips playfully brush against Kyuzo's parted, petal-soft mouth, "…you were all he talked about in the Guardian's cave…how there was this beautiful samurai dressed in red that would have any man fall to his knees, either by his swords…or by his looks."

"What?!" Kyuzo finally managed to choke out, every logical molecule in his body trying and failing to piece together everything that the spear-wielder was confessing to him as his deep, red eyes widened in utter disbelief and his body briefly shivered from Shichiroji's unnervingly close proximity.

Suddenly hushing any further words from escaping the dual-sword wielder, Shichiroji crushed his lips against Kyuzo's velvety-soft mouth, his fingers on the ex-bodyguard's chin serving to hold him in place while the spear-wielder breathed hotly across Kyuzo's cheeks and sought to ravage the red warrior's mouth.

Just as Kyuzo had planted both of his hands against Shichiroji's chest to deliver an enraged shove backwards, both men heard a tiny, heart-breaking sound coming from a little ways beside them amidst the trees.

"A-ah…K-Kyuzo…?"Katsushiro stuttered, shattered and confused as he visibly took deep breaths to steady himself as wide, pained eyes of jade watched the two blonde samurai break off their kiss to simultaneously seek out the owner of the barely-audible voice.

X

_Author's Note_: It was surprisingly tough to make sure that Kyuzo was properly wooed and that Katsu was not too much of a pushy bastard lol. XD Hope everyone liked the epic twist at the end, yeah? Drop me a line; please and thank you. XD


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_**Third Person POV**_

"_What?!" Kyuzo finally managed to choke out, every logical molecule in his body trying and failing to piece together everything that the spear-wielder was confessing to him as his deep, red eyes widened in utter disbelief and his body briefly shivered from Shichiroji's unnervingly close proximity._

_Suddenly hushing any further words from escaping the dual-sword wielder, Shichiroji crushed his lips against Kyuzo's velvety-soft mouth, his fingers on the ex-bodyguard's chin serving to hold him in place while the spear-wielder breathed hotly across Kyuzo's cheeks and sought to ravage the red warrior's mouth._

_Just as Kyuzo had planted both of his hands against Shichiroji's chest to deliver an enraged shove backwards, both men heard a tiny, heart-breaking sound coming from a little ways beside them amidst the trees._

"_A-ah…K-Kyuzo…?"Katsushiro stuttered, shattered and confused as he visibly took deep breaths to steady himself as wide, pained eyes of jade watched the two blonde samurai break off their kiss to simultaneously seek out the owner of the barely-audible voice._

Scarlet eyes widened in utter horror as Kyuzo watched the Okamoto quickly rush back into the forest, running away from him and Shichiroji with tears clouding his lovely eyes as his face was scrunched up in unimaginable pain.

Kyuzo immediately feared for Katsushiro's well being, seeing him so internally hurt was beyond devastating to the blonde samurai as he watched his small, shaking form quickly turn away from them and disappear from view, before the ex-bodyguard remembered that he still had his hands on Shichiroji's chest.

Kyuzo channeled as much rage as he could into his arms as he suddenly pushed Shichiroji away from him, so much force present in his action that Shichiroji had to dig the blunt end of his red spear into the ground so he may bring himself to a stop as he skidded back a few feet.

Kyuzo pointed a steady finger at Shichiroji's direction, casting him a sideways glance as his body was still angled towards the direction that Katsushiro had fled, before he spoke to the older samurai as he straightened his spine up to his full height.

"You…"Kyuzo began with frozen malice in his voice as he glared at Shichiroji's form from behind his thick, blonde fringe, "…if you touch me again, I'll kill you."

Shichiroji's expression immediately lightened up despite the angry threat he had just received from the master swordsman, the spear wielder casually shrugging as he quirked up a curious eyebrow at the red-clad samurai.

"That's not very nice," Shichiroji commented whimsically, almost tossing aside the idea of Kyuzo being so furious with him as he cocked his head to a side as he continued to observe Kyuzo's burdened expression and mannerisms, "…it's almost as if you really care about him."

"I do," Kyuzo answered quickly, instantly surprising the leisurely samurai who lifted both his thin, blonde eyebrows at such an adamant confession from the stoic samurai who finally turned more of his gaze towards Shichiroji, "…I do care about him."

"Hmph…I see…"Shichiroji processed the information solemnly, finally understanding how serious yet delicate the situation was, as he noticed Kyuzo starting to walk away from him.

"Kyuzo-dono, wait. I…well, I suppose this is where I tell you I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was like that between you two. You can't blame a guy for trying, though, right?" Shichiroji commented good-naturedly to the dual-sword wielder as he threw up his hands innocently with a smile on his face, truly meaning his words to the silent samurai even if they came across a little playfully.

Kyuzo halted his steps, his back facing Shichiroji as he only briefly lowered his head thoughtfully at hearing such statements from his comrade, knowing that Shichiroji had just spoken the truth to him, which he was grateful for, even if he could not regard it just yet as he suddenly took off in blur of deep red that easily raced through the trees after Katsushiro.

Kyuzo knew that Katsushiro probably could not have gotten too far, as the Okamoto would have a fairly troubling time seeing and was more than likely just trudging along, trying to put distance between himself and the other two samurai, and the ex-bodyguard felt his feet hurrying even more through the patches of cool, shaded ground in order to intercept the green-haired youth as he considered such troubling things.

Smears of red ghosting through the trees were visible to the naked eye as Kyuzo expertly leapt through the trees, dodging around thick, brown trunks and protruding rocks and uneven terrain as he gradually became more and more aware of Katsushiro's unique scent the farther he ventured into the forest.

Cotton and leather sang inside his mind as he hunted down the source of the aroma through the thick foliage, his footsteps and maneuvers beginning to grow desperate to finally find the green-eyed young man, to let him know that what had happened with Shichiroji was just an accident, and that he…was the only one the red-clad samurai wanted to be with.

X

Katsushiro had his left hand trailing across the rough bark of the many trees he slowly passed, his eyes burning with too many hot tears for him to see and navigate properly through the dense forest as he used his other sleeve to hide his face and wipe away the damning moisture there.

Horrible sobs racked his slender frame as he tried desperately to swallow down his soul-splitting feelings in vain, trying not to be in so much pain and anguish as he forced his feet to keep moving, keep getting away from that cruel scene that had broken his heart and had rendered him practically debilitated and empty.

Katsushiro felt deceived, used, and could feel his throat choke back foul bile that threatened to viciously tear itself from his mouth as he truly just wanted to collapse in whatever part of the large forest floor he was in and become one with the unmerciful, solid ground there; to disappear and not have to feel such consuming, unmerciful shame anymore.

"Ugh…" Katsushiro sniffed as he suddenly bumped into something solid directly ahead of him, blocking his path and forcing the Okamoto to lower his sleeve from his face so he could see what it was.

Kyuzo stood as still as a statue right in front of the trembling green-haired young man though his red eyes soft and full of guilt as he looked over Katsushiro's lithe frame as the latter had lifted his tear-streaked face up to meet his gaze, shock flashing across his lovely but sorrowed features before turning into utter despair and confusion.

Kyuzo felt another deep, wretched stab of white-hot pain bluntly lodge itself inside his chest as he finally saw Katsushiro's watery, narrowed eyes looking back up at him with so many unvoiced questions and accusations, so much pain and feelings of betrayal that it literally stole any words he had wanted to say from his voice.

Suddenly but not entirely taking the dual-sword master by surprise, Katsushiro began beating his fists against Kyuzo's chest, his sobs once again flooding his quivering voice as he spoke to the silent man before him who did not even move away from the young mans' emotional strikes.

"Why?! Why, Kyuzo…how could you …I thought…ugh…I thought we had something…!" Katsushiro cried as he slammed the sides of his fists into the red warrior's chest and sternum which did inflict physical pain to the blonde even though he merely kept his gaze trained on the young man's face while he spoke to him and vented, "…I thought we had something…I thought that maybe…I could get you to care about me…!"

His crumbled, staggering emotions having gotten the better of him, Katsushiro stopped hitting the sides of his hands against Kyuzo's torso, his sobs coming back full force now that he had actually voiced some of his own scattered feelings to the man who had hurt him so thoroughly, as Katsushiro sank down to his knees on the ground, slumping forward a bit with his head kept lowered, defeated.

Kyuzo's lips parted in a silent gasp, the corners of his blonde eyebrows upturned as his worry was written all over his handsome face, as he carefully dropped down to one knee beside his weeping lover, not daring to touch the green-haired young man just yet since he still had something unfathomably important and difficult to try to tell him.

"Katsushiro, what happened with Shichiroji-dono was an accident. He…saw us earlier today, and wanted to…make me an offer," Kyuzo explained gently, gaining the Okamoto's sobering attention gradually the more he spoke in his cool, patient timber, "but I refused."

"…_if you touch me again, I'll kill you."_

Kyuzo was more than pleased at seeing Katsushiro starting to calm down, his sobs practically non-existent as the green-haired man was only inclined to sniffing occasionally and making subtle swallowing noises in his throat while casting his striking jade eyes finally up to meet Kyuzo's half-lidded ruby orbs that were practically smiling reassuringly at him.

Katsushiro blinked his watery but clearing eyes as Kyuzo delicately reached a hand out towards him and gently brushed his thumb against his cheekbone, affectionately wiping away the many, warm lines of tears there as Kyuzo cradled the side of Katsushiro's face against his palm, immediately seeing the younger man relax as a result

"K-Kyuzo-dono…" Katsushiro murmured breathlessly; leaning into Kyuzo's warm, soft touch against his cheek that comforted any residual rage left inside of him, practically providing a lullaby that eased his every apprehension and strained feeling within as he felt all of the weight that had settled firmly on his shoulders simply lift off of him and cease to be.

"…but…why did you turn down Shichiroji-dono's offer?" Katsushiro asked fairly, his eyes having closed as he relished in Kyuzo's caring touches and close proximity, only now registering the fact that the red-clad samurai must have abandoned the spear-wielder right after he had left to track him down and set things right with him.

Kyuzo sighed thoughtfully, the aching pieces of his heart having positively melted hotly inside his chest, as he watched Katsushiro nuzzle endearingly into his palm, the Okamoto forever loving solely his touches, his attention…even after being as hurt as he had before.

The time was right; there was no better moment than now for the disciplined ex-bodyguard to own up to all the thoughts and concerns that had been mounting within him ever since Katsushiro had first approached him and showed him affection.

Everything, all of the unforeseeable meetings and oftentimes surprising circumstances that had happened recently between the silent dual-sword master and the striking young samurai, had lead up to this point, and Kyuzo was never one to be naïve or hesitant in the face of that which is most significant and fated.

"I told him that I already cared for another and that I…already belonged to someone else," Kyuzo said evenly, methodically trailing his fingers from Katsushiro's flushed cheek down to his small, rounded chin that he easily captured between his thumb and forefinger, "…I refused his offer because I love you, Katsushiro."

Green eyes slowly widened upon listening intently to Kyuzo's every solemn, heart-felt word, Katsushiro already replaying every, meaningful syllable over and over inside his mind, already feeling his life being saved as he watched Kyuzo blink patiently at him after finishing.

"Oh my God…"Katsushiro blanked quietly for a moment, lowering his gaze to try to begin processing what this meant, what this meant for the two of them as a couple who were to go through life side by side now and love each other, before quickly snapping his jade gaze back up to Kyuzo.

The ex-bodyguard was immediately tackled by a rush of blurred green and black as Katsushiro practically lunged at the red-clad man, wrapping his slender arms around Kyuzo's neck and burying his face into his scarlet shoulder.

"Kyuzo-dono, you have no idea what this means to me…I can't even…I am just so happy right now," Katsushiro professed emotionally into the fabric of Kyuzo's thick coat, the blonde samurai instantly relaxing in his kneeling position as he encircled his arms around his precious bundle and closed his eyes as he took peaceful pleasure in their sweet embrace.

Katsushiro pulled his head up from Kyuzo's shoulder as he brought his hands up to either side of Kyuzo's face as he mindfully pushed back soft, asymmetrical locks of blonde hair so he could see his lover's gorgeous face in full before speaking again.

"Tell me you love me again, Kyuzo-dono…please," Katsushiro whispered in his choked, hushed voice, already being rewarded by his loving ministrations that had his heart pounding inside his chest as the latter smirked kindly at him and his plea.

Kyuzo could not help but feel pleasantly taken aback and at perfect awe at how needy and adorable Katsushiro was being with him as the Okamoto's lovely green eyes trailed up and down his exposed face, taking in his features with satisfied reverie while he kept his blonde hair at bay with his delicate fingers.

"I love you…I don't need any more time to think otherwise because I am certain," Kyuzo confessed once more, filling even more blanks and putting at ease their earlier agreement of giving the loner samurai some respective time to consider where the two stood with each other and ultimately decide what course of action the older wanted for them both.

Katsushiro sniffed cutely again as he had watched Kyuzo continue to speak such feather-soft words that felt like they were enlarging his beating heart and making his blood speed hotly through his veins, his lips curving up into an awkward smile as he willed his raspy voice to be steady so he could reply in that way that he wanted it to sound.

"I'm so happy. I love you, too, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro said solidly but quietly, his arms wrapping around Kyuzo's neck as he slipped his eyes closed once more, finally feeling the whole, disorganized world make total sense around him for once, as he lightly rubbed his button nose against Kyuzo's.

Long, red-clad arms tightened around Katsushiro's back, effectively bringing the latter even closer, as two sets of rose-petal lips naturally connected in a warm, sincere kiss that spoke of determined promises and inclinations towards the future.

The kiss was kept simple but precious as Katsushiro squeezed the handfuls of durable red fabric that were within his grasp, drawing Kyuzo even harder against his mouth, as Kyuzo, in turn, kept his hands gentle and considerate against the Okamoto's shoulder blades.

"Don't ever leave me…" Katsushiro whispered longingly as soon as his and Kyuzo's tingling, comforting lips had parted only a fraction so that both men could breathe and truly savor the others' warmth that radiated from their closeness, their fragile, precious love that they felt like that were literally holding in their hands.

"I won't, Katsushiro," Kyuzo promised, just as quietly as the command had been uttered to him, as he trailed his hands up the youth's curved back, around his small shoulders, and up to either side of the Okamoto's angelic, flushed face as if to emphasize his softly-spoken words that no other living being on the planet had heard from him, "…I swear I'll protect you."

"Kyuzo-dono…"Katsushiro caressed the name just as lovingly as he brought up a hand and placed it over one of Kyuzo's that still held firmly onto his face, loving how much tenderness yet bravery was present within the very moment between as it acted like some sort of medicated balm over the wounds that he had felt when he had thought he would never have this again.

Kyuzo watched with gentle, humbled eyes as Katsushiro touched lingeringly along the back of his rough hand as he continued to cradle the younger man's delicate face inside his large palms, feeling quite touched that he was able to offer physical comfort to Katsushiro and watch as every single one of the Okamoto's worries and strife just detach themselves self from him and fade to nothing.

With his hands on Katsushiro's cheeks guiding their actions, Kyuzo carefully brought their faces close as both men slipped their eyes shut and pressed their yearning lips together once more, instantly feeling another gripping wave of gratification from experiencing the other's warmth and presence again…something that either one of them knew that they could not be without.

Just as the Okamoto began to trail his fingertips along the blonde-haired samurai's own fingers so he may take hold of one of the warm, soothing hands on his cheek, Kyuzo suddenly whipped his head to the left with a frighteningly stern expression on his face, their feather-soft kiss having broken off and leaving Katsushiro immediately worried.

"What is it?" the green-haired youth asked, having not heard the sound in the forest that the veteran samurai had heard as Kyuzo's entire, crouching frame appeared to go tense while he trained his senses in the direction of the disturbance.

"Come with me," Kyuzo ordered in a no-nonsense voice as the red-clad warrior swiftly got to his feet and held out his hand for Katsushiro to take, the highly-skilled and adept samurai already knowing that he had better keep Katsushiro in his sights when facing enemies so he could be sure as to what his lover was doing at all times.

The anxious Okamoto quickly took Kyuzo's hand to stand up before the pair dashed off towards the direction that had grabbed Kyuzo's attention, Katsushiro feeling his frazzled nerves try to resurface but the Okamoto was substantially winning over his initial fear as he continued to draw strength from the empowering sight of the red-clad warrior running briskly through the trees before him, as well as the words that he had spoken to him just moments before this had happened.

"_I swear I'll protect you."_

Katsushiro could have almost smiled as they raced further in the direction where he was sure there was trouble.

Only after a few minutes of running through the thick foliage and surrounding trees, Kyuzo abruptly stopped and held out an arm to let Katsushiro know to not just halt his running, but to remain perfectly silent as well.

The partially out of breath Okamoto understood his lover's intentions straight away and immediately got on his guard as he made sure to watch the areas that Kyuzo was not and that his ears could pick up even the faintest of cricket noises in the distance.

Katsushiro quietly approached Kyuzo's statuesque side, the surrounding area not giving off any peculiar sounds to his knowledge, and the Okamoto was almost prone to asking the ex-bodyguard if he was certain he had heard anything at all, but when the green-haired youth cast his sideways gaze into Kyuzo's face, any questions he had had inside his mind easily eluded him.

Kyuzo had his eyes closed and his lips barely parted, his features totally serene as the red-clad samurai appeared as if he was sleeping, and Katsushiro knew that in order to truly feel out any disruptions within the area, anything that was there that was not supposed to be there, one needed to quiet everything down and become a part of nature's stillness and order.

Kyuzo was tasting the air, smelling the earth, and listening to the songs of the birds within the trees as he let his heightened senses practically take over him, rendering him incapable of moving a muscle, as he took this moment to completely stop everything and just notice.

Katsushiro found himself feeling a little dazed as he looked at the master swordsman and considered intricately what Kyuzo was doing – he was putting every single tree in their place, evaluating it, and then moving on as he gradually cast his senses out like a rapidly expanding net in order to catch what was out of place, what was not right.

Suddenly, Kyuzo's blazing red eyes shot open as he said, "They're here!"

"W-what?!" Katsushiro stammered, now feeling his human instinct of fear start to riddle through him as he watched as four, five, six Nobuseri in combat shells rise up from over the ravine with their gigantic swords poised high.

Katsushiro's attention was placed back on his blonde-haired lover by his side; however, as he heard the two, distinguishable sounds of Kyuzo's swords being drawn from his sheath before the latter spoke evenly to him.

"Katsushiro, take the two on the left, but be careful. I know you can do this," Kyuzo said gravely as he quickly glanced over his shoulder to the younger man by his side that was looking upon the whole scenario with blatant uncertainty in his face.

Trusting that Katsushiro would not let him down and feeling satisfied that he would now know what area the Okamoto would stick to, Kyuzo charged forward towards the other four Nobuseri with his defensive sword held horizontally in front of his face with his offensive sword held stealthily down at his side.

However, Katsushiro was still gaping at the amazing, effortless skill that Kyuzo seemed to demonstrate as the older man suddenly became this extraordinary, powerful being with his swords held in an expert fashion as he diligently turned the tables on their enemies and made them the unfortunate prey – the Okamoto's temporary mindlessness completely leaving him out in the open.

Though, as soon as Katsushiro saw and heard the first loud clangs of steel against steel as Kyuzo masterfully parried one of the Nobuseri's large weapons so he could execute a devastating slice with both of his swords that cut the large, cylindrical shell into multiple parts, the green-haired youth was instantly brought back down to earth and to the intense reality that he was currently in.

Katsushiro adhered to his increasing fury, trying to channel it cleanly through his body and still his nerves so his hands did not shake, as he finally drew his red-handled sword from the sheath on his hip but then immediately had to roll to his left to avoid the massive swing of the Nobuseri's sword that demolished the tree that he had been standing next to.

"Ugh!" the Okamoto male voiced as he hurriedly got to his feet from lying on the ground, still keeping his body low as he gripped his sword with both of his hands and spotted an opening with his enemy that was having to clumsily turn around from chopping down the large, falling tree.

Katsushiro heard another piercing round of steel clashing just ahead, prompting him to quickly think of Kyuzo, and then the Okamoto was moving, barely thinking as he easily gave into the flow of the battle and the harsh adrenaline coursing through his veins as the one, solid thought that occurred to him was how he was going to see his beautiful, blonde-haired lover when this was all over.

Nothing was going to prevent that.

Utilizing his small stature to his advantage, Katsushiro dashed quickly to a side as his feet continued to close the distance between his self and the combat shell enemy, before he lowered his sword almost to the ground but only to put brutal strength behind his hands as he slashed his blade upwards into the bottom of the unsuspecting Nobuseri.

Katsushiro only somewhat acknowledged the pained sputtering of the man inside the combat shell, thick blobs of black liquid spraying out from the angled, upwards strike he had made to it, before the Okamoto already began turning his attention to his side where he knew his second opponent must be.

However, unbeknownst to the Okamoto, the second Nobuseri that Kyuzo had assigned to him had maneuvered to Katsushiro's blind spot on account of witnessing how the angered, less-experienced samurai had not moved away from the fallen enemy quick enough, and abruptly knocked the green-haired young man's sword out of his hands.

Katsushiro had been thrown back a few feet until his shoulders collided painfully with the chapped, rough surface of the tree trunk, the impact making him cry out some, as he ruefully took notice how his sword was lying on the forest floor where he had been and that the Nobuseri was quickly approaching him with his unbelievably huge sword raised high to strike him down.

"Kyuzo!" Katsushiro yelled at once as he squeezed his lovely, jade eyes shut to block out the image of his violent and painful, pending death.

Not a moment after the single, desperate word had escaped Katsushiro's lips did the Nobuseri howl in horrible pain as both of his long, black arms suddenly tumbled to the ground loudly, prompting the Okamoto to open his eyes in wonderment.

The scene in front of the green-haired youth seemed to be merely happening on its own as he observed with wide, grateful eyes as the Nobuseri screamed in agony, flailing a bit as he was no longer attached to either of his precious arms, but then the screaming abruptly stopped as the top half of the combat shell began to slowly slide off of the bottom half until the whole thing crumbled into a pile of useless rubble on the ground.

Standing behind the now cluttered mass of metal on the forest floor, Kyuzo blinked his beautiful eyes at Katsushiro with his arms out wide at each of his sides; a calm and completely relieved expression on his handsome, partially covered face as he took note that his beloved Okamoto was not, in fact, injured in any way.

Katsushiro silenced his surprised gasp as he hurriedly pushed himself away from the tree at his back as he ran towards his deadly fallen angel, his dangerous savior as the latter routinely put his dual swords back into the long, custom sheath on his back before Katsushiro got too close.

Kyuzo had just barely lowered his left hand from replacing his top-sheathed sword before Katsushiro dove into his chest, wrapping his arms around his waist tightly and burying his adorable, creamy face into his chest.

Kyuzo swallowed thickly as he carefully encircled his arms around the youth's back and squeezed his smaller form to reciprocate the embrace, feeling completely heavy-hearted all over again now that Katsushiro was safe and sound and back in his place inside his arms.

He could not remember the last time he had been so grateful for someone else's safety.

"Kyuzo-dono, you…you saved me…"Katsushiro murmured into the fabric of Kyuzo's long, red coat; the Okamoto not trembling or sobbing with emotion but merely overwhelmed and gracious, relieved to still be alive and all because of his most precious person's efforts.

Kyuzo tightened his embrace as he looked over the beautiful, innocent young man in his arms, feeling every one of the Okamoto's words weigh thickly inside of his heart with such humility and pure, undaunted appreciation.

"I swore to you that I would protect you, Katsushiro," Kyuzo gently reminded his lover as he freed a hand and began running his weapon-calloused fingers through soft, emerald bangs as he cradled Katsushiro's head against his chest, "…I meant it."

"Thank you, Kyuzo-dono…thank you," Katsushiro replied dreamily as he nuzzled the side of his face into Kyuzo's chest and collarbone a little more, relishing in his feather-soft touches against his brow and temple as the red-clad samurai kindly pushed his hair away from his eyes as they continued to hold onto each other and be thankful for exactly that.

"You don't need to thank me," Kyuzo reassured the youth kindly as he swept another lock of dark green hair back from Katsushiro's perfect face, loving how the latter was gripping onto his coat at his back with determined, loving hands so as to forever keep them in this position, "…I'm glad you're safe."

"Yeah…because of you," Katsushiro commented a bit dryly at his own expense as he lifted his head up from Kyuzo's chest to lock his striking green gaze with the blonde man's scorching red one.

"You did well," Kyuzo replied back simply, saying without saying how he had seen Katsushiro fight and defend himself and had actually performed not too badly in spite of their compromised circumstances.

Katsushiro smiled; a light forming in his enchanting eyes as he felt genuine pride swell through his entire being from receiving such praise from someone he admired so dearly in that respect, the Okamoto practically feeling like he had won another kind of acceptance within Kyuzo's confidential heart.

"Kyuzo-dono?" Katsushiro prompted the older man in his arms with a wide smile as he lowered his head back down to the red-clad warrior's chest and snuggled even tighter against him.

"Hn?" Kyuzo responded, a small smirk forming on his own face as he watched the Okamoto take a deep, relaxing breath inside his embrace, the younger man feeling nothing but sheer comfort and safety in the warm, iron-clad space he was in, before he continued speaking.

"Are you hungry?" the green-haired young man finished his question to the dual-sword user, almost making Kyuzo laugh out loud at how random it was considering the emotional and physical trials both of them had just been through.

However, it was probably for those same reasons that Kyuzo appreciated the out-of-the-blue question from his green-eyed lover all the more.

This moment was one to be valued, not dwelt upon for eternity, and so it was with equal contentment that Kyuzo replied back to his smiling, happy lover.

"Starving," Kyuzo answered truthfully, immediately gaining a pleased smile from Katsushiro as he raised his head up from Kyuzo's solid chest again to seek out his smirking face, both men welcoming the light-hearted atmosphere as it soothed away any left-over tension and made anything else that was not the person currently in their arms simply erode away from their minds.

"Let's get something to eat, then," Katsushiro offered warmly as he politely stepped away from the taller, older male, a gorgeous, inviting smile gracing his rounded features as he did so.

"Absolutely," Kyuzo confirmed quietly but sweetly, his head sort of cocking over to a side as he drank in Katsushiro's lovely smile, a smile that he was most grateful to see considering everything that had happened between them that day…a smile that he was not going to take for granted anymore.

As the pair calmly headed back towards the collected facilities at the forefront of the village, Kyuzo and Katsushiro clearly taking their time as they continued talking and whatnot, a rich, sapphire gaze watched on with dry interest from quite a ways behind them as they did so

Shichiroji had witnessed the ordeal of Kyuzo and Katsushiro fighting off the Nobuseri squadron, having sensed the enemy's presence from where he had been as well, but had stopped short of joining the battle once he had seen Kyuzo come to the Okamoto's aid with evident worry adorning his handsome features.

The blonde-haired spear-wielder had watched with a saddened but accepting half-smirk on his face as Kyuzo had easily accepted Katsushiro's rushed embrace, holding the green-haired young man intimately close, as he had spoken so softly to him while running his fingers through the fledgling samurai's long hair.

Kyuzo had been telling the truth – he really did care for the Okamoto.

When they had finally taken to leaving the grounds in favor of returning back to the main area of the village, Shichiroji had nodded solemnly at the sight as he quietly spoke words for only the passing wind to hear.

"Good luck, you two…I wish you nothing but the best."

As a samurai and as a man, Shichiroji knew when he had been defeated just as he also knew how to recognize when two people were in love and would do anything for the other.

Kyuzo was finally in that mindset for the young Katsushiro, Shichiroji noticed respectfully, before he also took his leave.

X

_Author's Note_: I AM SUPER SORRY that this took me a few million years to update, BUT the reason why it did was because I started yet another crazy story which happens to be a Tekken and Street Fighter Crossover. I HOPE YOU CHECK IT OUT! XD


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

_**Kyuzo's POV**_

Thirteen days later…

Slender hands, perhaps too fair to be subjected to so much violence and hardship, squeezed desperately at my shoulder blades as I moved inside of Katsushiro once more, keeping our connected bodies intimately close as I remained lying on top of his glistening, writhing form with my bare, outstretched arms supporting my weight.

His lustful pleas and moans throbbed inside my heated groin as they filled the open space of the hut, his shapely, pale legs draped snugly over each of my arms at our sides which had his firm body spread sinfully wide for me, as I kept my concentrating face close to his own so I may watch every one of his blissful, erotic expressions that passed over his angelic features.

Emerald tresses were free of their accessories and tousled softly around his head as he repeatedly tipped his chin up to me as he moaned again upon feeling me drive my weeping, swollen member hard into his body, my pace of making love to him was wonderfully harsh and demanding as every snap forward of my hips made his textured, hot insides stretch wide around my sex as I massaged his inner walls and pounded against his sensitive prostate.

I groaned from all my overwhelming pleasure, panting lightly as I felt the Okamoto raise his narrow hips up to meet every one of my hurried thrusts as he ground his perfect, supple ass against my groin, effectively making my cock slam into him even harder with much more impact and force that had both of us shivering in each others' arms.

"K-Kyuzo…ahhh…right there, right there…ahh…keep going right there!" Katsushiro moaned sensually to me, begging me with breathless, addictive words from his sweet, parted lips which prompted me to crane my head down the last remaining inches that separated us and seize his tempting mouth with my own, silently agreeing with every one of his demands.

His fingers tangled in my thick, blonde hair, pulling gently as Katsushiro continued bucking wildly up from the floor and against my groin, sending white-hot sparks to flood my systems and make my vision a little hazy, as I relished in how his trim sides and stomach muscles felt as they pushed up against my much larger form over and over while the two of us moved as one.

I lowered myself to rest on my elbows so I may have my hands free to wrap underneath his arms and seize his small shoulders, slightly tugging his curved, lithe body towards me as I proceeded to pound my thick, enflamed member inside of him at just the right angle that he had begged for, instantly making my beloved green-haired samurai arch dramatically high as his calves squeezed my triceps while his sexy moans only grew louder as they meshed together in between us.

"Katsu…mmn…you feel so good…so good," I murmured softly against his panting lips, enjoying our heated proximity and the way the movement of his body drastically massaged over my intruding cock in the most mind-blowing of manners, before I tilted my head over to a side and immediately sought out his graceful, soft neck with my lips.

I swirled my velvety tongue against the flesh of his neck, my fingers tightening their grip on the backs of his shoulders, before I closed my lips around his salty, smooth skin and sucked hard, purposefully adding a bit of blunt pain to sizzle through my lover's beautifully sensuous body during our passionate, meaningful lovemaking.

"Ohh my…Kyuzo…p-please…God…ahhh…!" Katsushiro's haywire mind tried to convey to me in drawn-out words that raised in pitch the more he attempted to voice out his pleasure as I assaulted his neck with hungry, searching lips and felt his intoxicatingly soft insides flutter around my moving length as a result; my stunning Katsushiro obviously getting close to reaching his own, personal end that I always found impossibly entrancing to behold.

I arched my own my back slightly to increase my leverage over him, having to pull my lips and tongue away from his inviting neck, as I felt my lover suddenly dig his nails into my broad shoulders and come in between our sliding, grinding bodies, Katsushiro's warm, milky seed erupting from his untouched cock as he screamed my name and tossed his lovely head to a side while he experienced an apex of forbidden pleasure and immediate euphoria.

I looked over his tantalizing and erotically sprawled-out form with half-lidded, crimson eyes as my fiery Okamoto came all over his own heaving chest and flexing stomach, his translucent essence stealing my adamant attention as Katsushiro trembled and moaned his pleasure as the dense liquid leaked from the slit of his cock and coated his creamy, silken flesh before me.

"Haa…Katsushiro…"I breathed faintly, blatantly losing whatever grip I had had left on my teetering edge of collected sanity, as the pouted, shaky whimpers that left the Okamoto's mouth while his shivering body still clung to seemingly every inch of me, coaxed me perfectly to give in to all the swelling pleasure that had pooled low in my groin almost to the point of anxiety.

My long, lean body, taut with hard-earned muscle and criss-crossing scars, stilled within Katsushiro's mind-numbing embrace as I felt him trail his hands down my toned arms as I flooded his insides with my own seed, releasing deep inside his willing body that seemed to be suckling me for more as I quivered and gasped for precious air in the process.

My over-stimulated cock finished coming inside of Katsushiro's immaculate body with short, jerky movements that acted like some kind of gateway to allow massive amounts of mindless, senseless peace and satisfaction to suddenly flow into my body and render me rather boneless and lax on my hands as I caught my breath.

With sloppy, relaxed movements, Katsushiro slid his long legs down from my arms until he had his feet on the ground again, and then quickly placed his small hands on either side of my face as he leaned his torso up and pressed kiss after kiss to my nose, my cheeks, my chin, and my lips.

I smiled lazily as I closed my eyes and welcomed his showering of pleasant, pillow-soft affection, finding that it only amplified the utter tranquility that our lovemaking had ultimately brought me to as I leaned into his touch and kissed him back when his lips finally found mine again.

"I love you, Kyuzo-dono," Katsushiro said softly, happily to me, his hands still cradling my face comfortably as I slowly opened my eyes at his caring, heart-felt words that never ceased to make my chest swell with glorious pride every time I heard them.

"I love you, too, "I replied truthfully before our two sets of sakura-colored lips met again in a simple but significant kiss, something for us both to hold onto in the wonderful, sated afterglow that we both were currently in, as we purely valued the other's intrinsic love and presence as we let the sensations of being physically and spiritually fulfilled take over our very lives for this one, precious moment while we kissed.

Both of us lingeringly separated our tingling and somewhat numb lips before I decided that I was far too drained to support my weight any longer as I carefully lowered my blonde head down to Katsushiro's collarbone and then finally lain down my arms onthe blanketed floor beside us.

The Okamoto smiled above my head as he watched me settle top of him and then sigh in relief, the soft, feather-light touches of his fingers sifting through my hair and pushing my bangs away from my face lulling my tired form into a total state of wholly appreciated leisure as he did so; every tension a faded memory as any troubling thoughts were plainly not able to exist at the moment.

For about the passed two weeks, Katsushiro and I have been practically inseparable; always together no matter what time of day it was.

Granted some time before the lot of us had decided to search for Kanbei-sama, Katsushiro and I used the daytime to train diligently, but also to talk to one another as equals, as partners in more than just war. He told me about the circumstances under which he had met Lady Kirara and Rikichi in the city of Kougakyou, and he told me about his life up until that point.

Even though I could have informed him that I had already surmised as much, judging by the higher quality of the clothes that he wore and the expensive but highly unused blade on his hip, I let the joyous and forever positive Okamoto tell me about his rather privileged upbringing and how he had chosen to leave it all to become a samurai and finally know what it meant to help others.

I somewhat admired him for his choice in such an obscure time and economic state, where samurai were a thing of the past and scattered where there were still some remaining.

I chose not to tell my bright-eyed Katsushiro about how I had had no choice but to wield a sword, finally mastering the difficult but deadly art of two swords during my youth, before participating in The Great War with nothing keeping me going but my merits and honor to fight and die as a samurai.

However, I still answered his questions when he asked me about things and always cherished the smiles and looks of wonderment that would befall him from my answers.

During training, the Okamoto was more than ardent at honing his swordsmanship and I was secretly humbled that I was the one helping him to do so. He followed my movements perfectly, learning everything I taught him easily and fervently, as he adhered to my wisdom and knowledge of battles and tactic, and it was during our fourth time training together that I realized that I was hopelessly devoted to his improvements.

Perhaps it could serve as some kind of legacy, or maybe my declaration of love, as I wanted him to be able to defend himself efficiently; I wanted him to reach his own, personally-set goal of being a true samurai; I wanted him to be safe when I could not be there; I wanted him to be happy and know that same fulfillment and ease the rest of us did every time we brandished our weapons and were met with multiple enemies.

By nightfall, however, after oftentimes grueling training sessions, he and I would be effortlessly swept away by the sheer magnitude of the other's growing passion as we embraced each other in the nearest facility available and made sweet, precious love like it would be our last time.

Every time felt like a blessing, the way he begged me of things to be done to him, while I, in turn, found out little by little just exactly what makes my precious lover completely come apart for me so he will be at his wits' end, truly miraculous, every time I experienced it.

At various times throughout the day, though, as we trained or ate or just carried on, Katsushiro would tell me that he loves me, forever gracing me with those simple but saving words that were always accompanied by a warm smile and the most beautiful emotion to manifest in his eyes.

I had never been happier in my life…and Katsushiro was the reason why.

"Kyuzo-dono?" Katsushiro spoke all of a sudden, his voice kept as gentle as the caresses he made against my hair as he perhaps wanted to see if I had fallen asleep on him.

"Yes?" I replied back, my usual baritone sounding a bit hoarse since I was quite thirsty as I continued to lie on top of my green-haired, fledgling samurai, loving his sugar-sweet touches and his lithe frame underneath my own as we remained close.

"Could we go to the pond to wash up? It's not too late yet and I kind of…need to," Katsushiro admitted with a vibrant pink blush staining his cheeks as he explained his situation to me, prompting me to lift my head up from his chest to regard him.

I could not help but smile at the Okamoto's obvious embarrassment, so I dipped my blonde head down to briefly place a small kiss to his lips before saying, "As you wish."

X

Forty-two minutes later…

"It's freezing! How in the world do you just go right in with no problem, and not feel like jumping right out of your skin?!" Katsushiro exclaimed like I had just worked magic as I had entered the chilly waters of the pond before him, his outrageous comments pulling an amused chuckle from me as I watched my beautiful lover hug his arms around his slender sides as he lowered his body into the water to join me.

Again, Katsushiro's long, green hair was not put up in his usual pony-tail yet, leaving his lengthy mane to drape down his back and over his shoulders as he shivered in the water and inched closer to my patiently waiting and observant form.

"Perhaps…"I began in a silken voice, my eyes having shamelessly trailed over the lean, enticing lines of pale muscle and sinew before me for far too long for me to remain motionless a minute more, "…I should warm you."

With the water gently sloshing around me, I moved to Katsushiro's side and wrapped my dripping, strong arms around his back, drawing his smaller, naked body to my own so he could share my warmth while I held him close.

Katsushiro looked up at me with his lovely, half-lidded jade eyes, easily melting into my embrace as I squeezed his lithe frame against my own, instantly feeling his shivering subsiding as he took a deep breath and then released his arms from holding onto his own sides.

My scarlet gaze was directed right into his precious face, reading his every emotion and thought, as I kept my arms tightly wrapped around him, the pleasant water coming up to his chest and my sternum, as I craned my head down while he smoothly slid his hands up my sides.

Katsushiro met my lips urgently, immediately purring approvingly against my sensitive flesh as I felt him run his small, wet hands to my chest before trailing down to my taut, bared abdomen, prompting me to part his lips with my own as I knowingly plunged my tongue inside his warm mouth.

The green-haired young man groaned softly into my mouth, followed by his nails lightly scratching down the hard ridges of my stomach, as I swirled our two, highly-receptive muscles together hungrily, my tongue tasting and massaging his own in such a way that I knew would render him delightfully breathless.

I could not help but groan low in my throat as well from feeling him reciprocate my fiery kisses as he ran his fingertips further down my flat lower abdomen, our lips practically adhered together as I mingled our tongues in a heated battle as I purposefully swept my tongue against his own before flicking the tip and kissing his lips hard so he could have his own way with my velvety muscle.

Just as Katsushiro lured my tongue into his mouth so he could close his petal-soft lips around it and suck in a suggestive manner, his trailing hands firmly seized my growing erection from beneath the water's surface, instantly making me gasp against his lips from the sudden pressure.

I shivered as I felt the young Okamoto not hesitate in the least to start stroking my member in his hand, the rapidly warming water around us serving as additional stimulation to my aroused senses as he did so, while I pulled my lips away from his own and watched with glazing eyes as he smirked up at me.

"Are you up for it?" I asked, half-playfully, half-seriously as I could not help but feel a substantial part of me worry about his well-being and if he was pushing himself too hard for my sake…but the look in his eyes told me differently even before he opened his mouth to reply.

"One more time, Kyuzo-dono…give _this _to me one more time…please…" Katsushiro replied huskily, giving my cock a slightly harsher tug when he had said 'this' to me, his words already acting as some kind of catalyst to my increasing arousal as I absolutely loved it when the fiery Okamoto was demanding with me and our sex.

Swiftly, in answer, I lowered my hands down his back to his ass and squeezed his soft, supple flesh hard in my grasp as I hoisted him up and then quickly walked forward a few paces until we were at a much more shallow part of the pond, the crystal-blue water splashing around us as I made the transition with him in my arms.

I carefully leaned him against the rock-laden edge of the pond, the water only coming up to the tops of his creamy thighs, as I freed my large hands from his slender body and slowly sank to my knees before him, already seeing his engorged member from my peripheral vision as the Okamoto, in turn, always seemed to love it when I was a bit demanding with him as well.

"Kyuzo-dono…"Katsushiro voiced almost anxiously as I replaced my hands on his narrow, perfect hips and gently leaned his body backwards some more, my scorching, narrowed eyes never leaving his flushing, adorable face as he watched my manipulating of his body with parted, alluring lips.

Keeping my hands on his hipbones, I finally broke his sensual gaze as I closed my eyes and opened my mouth to let the tip of his member slide in between my lips and touch my tongue, the Okamoto trembling initially from the slow-moving warmth enveloping his hardened, begging member as the glittering water lapped gently at his thighs in the process.

"…ohh…yes, please…taste me…"he breathed erotically, knowing that I personally favored his pleas and all of the sinfully sweet words that escaped his mouth when we made love, every syllable coming from him going straight to my member and making my blood pump a little harder inside my veins as a result.

I sucked in earnest on the head of his cock, laving my tongue all over the smooth, warm flesh as I obligingly tasted his precome over and over again, feeling him writhe softly underneath my mouth and hands as he groaned his pleasure while remaining in the provocative position I had had him in for me.

Of their own accord or simply because Katsushiro's hushed pants of air were driving me absolutely mad with desire, my hands ran heavily over his moist, porcelain flesh as I trailed them up either side of his torso until I brought my hands around to his curved, leanly-muscled back and massaged my fingers deep into his skin, praising it entirely as I sought out to make him arch back even more as I took more and more of his length down my throat.

"Ah…haa…mmn," Katsushiro voiced shakily as I felt him place his hands against the rock ledge behind him for support as I gradually began to repeat my procedure of moving my lips up and down his beautiful, swollen member, noticing that it pulsed hotly inside my mouth every time I breathed against his groin and massaged his back a little rougher with my hands.

Picking up my pace, as I was certain that I wanted to taste everything he had to offer right this very moment, I relaxed my throat a bit more as I moved my mouth along his shaft faster, purposefully, knowingly squeezing his length in between my lips at just the right places as I licked harshly at the underside of his thick head while I worked on him.

"Ohh…oh God…Kyuzo…nnh…w-wait…y-you're going to…ah!" Katsushiro stammered rather cutely as I felt him tense beneath my touches, his pants for air and the sensuous writhing of his body having gotten exponentially more sultry, more needy as I sucked on his cock with almost violent passion, my actions practically begging him to let me drink him as I simultaneously scratched my nails down his hips and the outsides of his firm, milky thighs.

I heard him bite his lips to try to muffle his increasing cries, but the moment I seized his parted, trembling thighs hard inside my hands, Katsushiro moaned a surprised but pleasured version of my name as he shot his come in multiple, creamy spurts into my mouth with sporadic pulls of his shapely body and hips before me, prompting me to collect as much of his warm, naturally salty essence on my tongue before erotically swallowing it down.

Katsushiro was panting heavily, looking as if he was barely able to support his weight the way he was, as I released his softening, damp member from my mouth and gracefully stood up to my full height in front of his hazy-eyed and totally gorgeous form.

The Okamoto only caught a glance of me licking my semi-swollen lips for the lingering taste of his silken essence there, before he was hastily spun around in his place with my hands gripping tightly onto his waist once more.

Birds chirped merrily from overhead amidst the clear afternoon sky as the surrounding trees and dense shrubs all swayed briefly with a light, passing wind that cooled our water-slick skin, but neither I or Katsushiro even noticed such trivial things as I lowered my lips to the fledgling samurai's ear and whispered, "I can never…get enough of you, Katsushiro."

And with that, I reared my aching hips back and plunged my weeping member deep inside the Okamoto's stretched and still moistened entrance from our last bout of lovemaking, and was instantly met with the feeling of my overwhelmed senses quickly fade away into a hopeless oblivion as I savored how there was absolutely no resistance inside of Katsushiro's warm, taut body.

I shivered fleetingly as my gloriously haphazard mind was further compromised from the view of Katsushiro wantonly bending over for me as he whined in pleasure from being filled with so much, so suddenly, and it was in that short moment that I knew that it would be impossible for me to take things slowly with him.

Katsushiro had placed his hands flat against the surface of the rock ledge in front of us as I smoothly glided my hands to his round, maddeningly addictive ass so I may seize his flesh lustfully before I immediately took to pounding my hardened arousal deep inside of him, already feeling massive amounts of subtle satisfaction roll over me as I was able to move easily inside of the young man's supple ass, feeling his slippery, lubricated insides provide soul-tearing pleasure to my engorged member as I thrust into him without consequence.

My green-eyed angel had dipped his body down low in response, his open mouth letting out moan after moan, each one seemingly to increase in pitch as I could feel his body become even more wanton and erotic from my sensual ministrations as Katsushiro pushed his ass against my groin as his new angle gave him a bit more leverage to do so.

My eyes were narrowed with lust and my lips had parted in unspeakable pleasure as I watched Katsushiro's slender, succulent body shove slightly forward with each harsh thrust that I made into him, abusing his prostate deliciously, as I could only seriously focus on the intoxicating texture surrounding my sensitive cock every time I slammed deep inside him and the ear-splitting sounds that erupted from his precious lips as a result.

I could feel my accumulating pleasure coiling up tightly within my lower abdomen, making my whole body shiver with even more brimming, boiling ecstasy that desperately needed to peak, so I hurriedly wrapped my arms around Katsushiro's slim torso and eased his body backwards so that his back could be pressed up against my chest and I could taste his pallid skin again before I came.

My arms securely encircled around his waist to hold his smaller frame in place while I moved inside of him at a brutal pace, positively drowning in my pleasures and ultimate need to grind my cock inside of his firm ass that was beginning to squeeze around my intruding length in earnest, Katsushiro carefully lifted both of his arms up until his hands swept over my collarbone and around my shoulders so the whimpering, moaning Okamoto could hold onto me as well.

The smooth lines of his muscles were burning hotly against my flesh as I continued to scoop my hips up in fast, staccato movements that had him practically bouncing up and down before me as his little hands grabbed and scratched down my neck and shoulders and his sensual, inebriating moans started to sound like frantic pleads.

"…love you, Katsu…you're everything to me," I whispered lowly as I moved my hands down his stretched, exposed abdomen until I seized his weeping cock in one hand and used my other to press flat against one of his hips, still keeping his lower half practically adhered to my own as I pounded ruthlessly into his ass, feeling his rippled, moistened texture bring me off in the most earth-shattering of ways.

"Ohh…K-Kyuzo…Kyuzo…ahh… I love you…I love you so much…ohhh…!" Katsushiro moaned in my heated, erotic embrace, his emerald head tipping back to rest against my chest as he quickly dropped his hands down to my wrists so he could feel my actions as I vigorously pumped his straining cock in my hand, squeezing his over-stimulated head in between my thumb and forefinger with every stroke.

Then, in a knowing gesture that I knew would have my sexy Okamoto completely bursting at his seams for me, having grasped many pieces of information about what the younger samurai personally loved to experience during our lovemaking, where one of them happened to be my voice…I placed my lips tantalizing close to his ear.

"…mmn…I'm so close, Katsushiro…I need to come inside you…right now…" I purred provocatively into my lover's blushing ear, letting my natural timbered voice glide thickly over the Okamoto's senses, immediately feeling him tense inside my arms in response.

"…ohh…my God, Kyuzo…ahh…coming…I'm coming!" Katsushiro announced erotically, his fingers digging into the flesh of my arms as I groaned into his shoulder before sinking my white teeth into his skin, tasting his salty-sweet moisture as I felt his cock swell inside of my palm before the green-haired young man released his creamy, white essence in jagged strings that sprayed partially against the rock ledge we were facing and some in the crystallized water that surrounded our naked bodies.

My teeth still claiming purchase on top of Katsushiro's shoulder, I squeezed his spurting member in my hand as I drove my own, begging length deep inside his delightfully quivering body, finally climaxing long and hard as I emptied myself for a second time inside his warm, fluttering ass that massaged every inch of my releasing member.

Katsushiro's lean body gradually went limp against my chest, his dark green head sort of lolling to a side on my chest as the Okamoto felt me release the tortured flesh of his shoulder from my sharp teeth, my tongue quickly licking at the small, worried imprints I had made there, while I simultaneously forced every last drop of my milky completion from the tip of my weakly thrusting cock into his body.

I shivered drastically, the chill from the crisp air finally catching up to me, as I mindfully pulled my flaccid, sated member out of my lover's entrance, hearing Katsushiro make a subtle noise in his throat once I did so, as he simply relaxed against my solid, sturdy form as I kept my arms wrapped around his lithe frame, trying to protect him from the cold that I now felt.

"Mmm…I feel so relaxed right now…"Katsushiro commented dreamily, his voice as light and caressing as the soft wind that pushed passed the surrounding scenery that offered for us to hear the tranquil song of nature as we both lingered as long as we could in the stationary bliss that was this moment, "…you always know just what to do to make me feel like this…"

"I make it my business to know," I mused good-naturedly as I craned my head down to him and pressed a chaste, loving kiss to the top of his silken green head, treasuring greatly how he had his hands gently touching my arms as I cradled him in my warm embrace.

Katsushiro smiled pleasantly as he let my words soothe over him, just like how I wanted them to.

"Good…"the Okamoto replied sleepily, his eyes, no doubt, closing as he sought out cotton-soft warmth and comfort from my larger form behind him, holding him carefully as if he would break if I held him any tighter, while the two of us remained ascended amongst the clouds with how impossibly light and carefree we were.

As much as I absolutely cherished this peaceful moment between us where worries were easily put to rest and worldly cares were basically abandoned along with the fleeting breeze, I softly nudged the side of his head with my chin to gain his attention, though I knew he would not stir in my arms.

"Katsushiro, we had better finish here before someone finds us," I informed the beautiful, unperturbed young man leaning against my chest, savoring my touch and my presence, and I immediately felt a little guilty for mentioning what I had.

"I know, I just really don't want to move right now," Katsushiro lightly whined before nuzzling his pale, rounded face against my well-muscled chest a bit more before adding, "…Kyuzo-dono?"

"Yes? What is it, Katsushiro?" I asked, feeling extremely light-hearted as I provided an opening for the charmingly wistful Okamoto to finish his thought and continue speaking his idea to me.

This time, Katsushiro did turn around carefully in my arms so that he may face me, his stunning eyes were half-lidded with laxness but glinting with nothing but pure admiration, love, and devotion to me…his expression making me silently gasp once he and I beheld each other's gaze.

"You really are an amazing person," Katsushiro finished, his words heavy with adoration, with loyalty, and everything else that made my own heart, my own world positively soar even higher into the dazzling skies overhead, "…I don't ever want to be without you."

Before he had finished speaking his honeyed, bittersweet words to me, Katsushiro had wrapped his arms around my back and rested his face back against my chest, hugging me dearly and securely as I could not help but replace my long arms around him as well.

His head was tucked underneath my lowered chin as I whispered out my words to him, my arms unconsciously increasing the strength of my hold on his smaller, precious form, genuinely valuing everything he had to offer…his qualities, his weaknesses, his quirks, his beauty, his words…all of it.

I loved everything about him.

"I feel the same…Katsushiro, "I replied back quietly, not even allowing the water below us or the trees around us to hear my delicate but significant words to the love of my life held firmly in my embrace after we had just finished making meaningful, passionate love to each other again.

Little did I know, little did any of us know, that after only another two weeks my precious, sweet Katsushiro…would accidentally kill me.

So much pain and remorse I had seen in his lovely face right before I had fallen, a face that I had kissed countless times, made smile that brilliant, heart-stopping smile of his…a face that I had brushed away the tears from and confessed my undying love to.

I had felt no pain when it had happened.

After the magazine of the gun in Katsushiro's small hand had emptied into my chest and torso, I had felt absolutely…nothing; a stillness…like I had been pleasantly shocked into going rigid and unmoving, where only the rivers of blood running out of my mouth and wounds were a sign that I was even still there.

While my last words had gone to another, my fading thoughts were about my dear Katsushiro… faintly remembering his words, his lips, his remarkable touches, the way he…took away my loneliness and brought me nothing but happiness instead.

"_I have to get you to fall for me…just as I fell for you…Kyuzo-dono…"_

I had fallen for the bright-eyed young man; my heart being easily consumed wholly by his unwavering love and affection that had oftentimes left me absolutely breathless; the Okamoto effortlessly letting me grasp onto his extraordinary warmth so that it flooded into me as well, and we could be together.

"…_I have to; I can't go on if I don't…you're just so…beautiful."_

He was the beautiful one, always smiling, always magnificent.

In my final minutes before I had finally lost my hold on life, my blood soaking and staining the hardwood floor around me and taking away the last of my discomfort as it only felt like I was drifting off to a wonderful sleep, an image appeared right before my blurring, heavy eyes.

I saw Katsushiro, his long, green hair sparkling underneath the tiny streams of sunlight that were able to make it through the dense canopy above the Sacred Forest in Kanna, as his blushing face smiled warmly up at me and I could vividly…hear his words, words that he had spoken to me when I had been alive and that I would never forget.

"_I love you, Kyuzo-dono…I just want to be yours…if you'll have me."_

I swore I would protect you…I swore it to you as I held you that day; I said that I would never leave you…

I apologize, Katsushiro.

But, at least…I got to see…some light before

"_Before we let euphoria / convince us we are free / remind us how we used to feel / before when life was real."_ – **The Light Before We Land** by the Delgados

X

_Author's Note_: That's all, folks. XD Btw, it was totally on purpose that the last line of the story was cut off mid-sentence. Pretty neat, huh? Huzzah! REVIEW IT!


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